Conquest
by J.W.H. 10
Summary: Tails tries to stop Scourge's plan of conquest whilst trying to convince his love interest to defect from the path of evil.
1. Chapter 1

**CONQUEST**

Author's note: I have been planning to write this story for over six months now. I hope it's worth it for all of us. By the way, this story has a mixture of Mobians and humans and the Mobians wear clothes (who shouldn't?).

 **-X-X-X-**

They were getting restless and anxious. The meeting should have started half an hour ago but hadn't. All because he was late. And they didn't expect him to be late, considering his reputation. A weasel stood up from the chair he was sitting and banged his fist on the table in frustration. "Grrrr where is he?"

The human sitting at the head of the table sighed. He also ran out of patience but held his composure. "He'll be here, Nack. Just be patient."

Nack seated himself back down but voiced his impatience once again. "I've waited long enough! If you says you start at eleven, you start at eleven! What's keeping him, huh? Isn't he's the one who called this dumb meeting to begin with?"

The weasel had a point. Soon the gathered leaders of Mobotropolis' criminal underground began to make their impatience known. They contemplated leaving but none of them made a move for the door. They were probably waiting for someone with enough balls to do so. But walking out of an arranged meeting, regardless of the presence or absence of the planner was considered an act of disrespect. And neither of them didn't want to upset the criminal in question, given his reputation. So on they waited.

The man at the head glanced at his watch. _If he's ain't here in the next ten minutes, I'll have to reschedule_ he thought to himself.

Ten minutes later and there was still no sign of their host. By then the crime lords had grown so tired of waiting and their patience had worn so thin, it would snap with another minute of waiting.

"Alright." The man at the head stood up. "It looks like he ain't coming. I guess we'll have to postpone for another—" he was cut off by the sound of heavy boots and the clinking of chains coming from outside the hallway. Soon, the door opened and in walked a green biker looking hedgehog, followed by a red vixen.

 **-X-X-X-**

Scourge stepped into the room to be greeted by scowling faces. They were no doubt pissed at his tardy timekeeping but he didn't care. They would have to deal with it. He walked straight up to the standing man in the expensive three-piece suit.

"Good to see you, Reggio."

Reggio Tarlini regarded the hedgehog with a nod. "Scourge. You're late. This meeting had better be a good reason for wasting my time." The other crime lords grunted in agreement.

Scourge nodded. "Right." He settled himself at the head of the table but remained standing. Reggio made to say something but a menacing look from the green hedgehog held his tongue and he ended up sitting himself at the very seat reserved for the late comer.

"I don't want to take up much of your time, so I'll get straight to the point." Scourge looked at the crime lords with a serious expression. "I plan to conquer Mobius."

Their reaction was palpable. First, they looked at him as if he was crazy but his countenance betrayed nothing. Then they suddenly burst out laughing. To them, Scourge looked like your average juvenile delinquent, with his biker attire rather than someone with such ludicrous ambitions as world domination. The hedgehog just stared at them blankly and waited for them to finish.

"I know it sound crazy, but—"

"You want to conquer Mobius?" Kukku XV, leader of the Battle Bird Armada scoffed.

"No offense, but you don't look like the type." Sako, leader of the Silent Shadows put in.

Scourge growled. "If you would stop interrupting me, I would continue." He would have exploded with verbal rage had it been some other people but at this meeting, he had to maintain professionalism. "I may not look like much but I'm serious about this. Now, in order to achieve this, I need a lethal and professional team." He gestured towards the crime lords. "That's where you guys come in. Together, we can achieve this."

The crime lords huddled together and whispered amongst each other. When they finished, Nack spoke up. "So, how's we supposed to help you achieve this… fool's dream."

The hedgehog did not appreciate the jibe but continued nonetheless. "You are all useful in specific fields of crime. Nack, you and your Hooligans should know all the spots with all the good stuff to raid. Not to mention your ties with the other criminal underbelly. Sako, you and the Silent Shadows are professional thieves who are masters of stealth. I could use your expertise in incognito heists. Kukku XV, you and your Battle Bird Armada make a formidable army. And Reggio, you're an arms dealer so you must have some knowledge about the weapons you smuggle. Those will be useful in my conquest. So now you see just how useful you are."

His words had the desirable effect on his audience. They once again debated amongst each other and when they finished this time, Reggio spoke up. "What's in it for us?"

For the first time since coming in, Scourge sat down in the chair and clasped his hands together. "Once I conquer Mobius, you will each get a region to rule as your own."

"You make it sound easy, Scourge." Sako said. "But do you think we can just take Mobius in one go?"

"Yeah and how's about those heroes?" Nack snarled.

"Do you even have the resources necessary for such an ordeal as this?" Kukku XV put in.

Scourge held up his hand for silence. "Enough!" He stood up. "I'll give you time to think about this and then we'll discuss it at my place. All your questions will be answered there." He turned to the vixen. "Fiona, give them the maps."

The vixen opened a small briefcase and pulled out some maps, which she handed out to the crime lords. Then she spoke for the first time. "That's a map to our lair. You have twenty-four hours to respond. If you're in, follow the map's highlighted directions to Hollow Hill. You'll be filled in on the plan. If you don't want to join us, burn the map and forget about this whole thing."

Scourge left the chair and headed for the door, followed by his companion. "I hope you'll make the right decision, gentlemen." He turned to them and smiled crookedly with a hint of malice. "I hope to see you all in less than twenty-four hours." The two took their leave.

 **-X-X-X-**

"Was this some kind of joke?" Sako exclaimed after a whole ten minutes silence. "I mean conquer Mobius? Just like that?"

"Yeah, and how's he gonna deal with all those do-gooders?" Nack harrumphed while playing with a combat knife.

"The Battle Bird Armada has tried and failed." Kukku XV scoffed. "What makes this guy so confident he can pull it off?"

Reggio Tarlini just sat quietly, not paying attention to his associates, conversation. He was thinking about Scourge's offer. It may have sounded like the deluded dream of some criminal who may have had a little too much to drink. _Maybe that's why he was late_ thought Tarlini. But Scourge was as clear as crystal and didn't sound the least bit intoxicated during the meeting. _So was he serious about all that? About this?_ He looked at the map which indicated a highlighted road south of the outskirts of Mobotropolis with an encircled area written "Hollow Hill".

If he agreed to join, he was sure to be joining a group of terrorists planning to overthrow the government and those weren't his plans. All he did was smuggle weapons and sell them to the highest bidder. Just like that, easy money. What more could he ask for?

Then again, Scourge was making an offer that would have many licking their lips. But he couldn't just jump at it. As far as he was concerned, there wasn't a 100% chance of success. So if they were foiled, then that would bring all his hard work to the ground. But Scourge appeared serious and he spoke without any shadow of a doubt. Not to mention his reputation of one who got things done, regardless of the setbacks. So if he said he was going to conquer Mobius, he was going to conquer Mobius.

 _And I'm going to be part of that conquering party_ he thought.

That was when he made his decision.

Looking back to his associates, he saw that they were also looking at their maps but neither had made any move to burn them. Whether they were still deciding or had already decided, he couldn't tell. But he had made _his_ decision. He folded up the map and pocketed it.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm in."

Kukku XV looked at Reggio and shrugged. "Eeh, what the heck." He put the map in his jacket.

"As much as I'm skeptical about this, I think that hedgehog might be on to something." Sako put his map into a small pouch on his hip.

"As long as we's getting paid after all this." Nack sighed. "This is something big."

Tarlini stood up. "I guess we'll all see each other at Hollow Hill. Good night, gentlemen." He headed for the door and went out. Whilst in the hallway, he felt his phone vibrating. Pulling it out, he checked the caller ID. It was Tony, his second in command. He swiped the screen.

"Yeah, Tony, what's goin' on?"

Tarlini listened into the other line. Then he stopped, the calm demeanor on his face morphing into a scowl.

"WHAT?!"

-X-X-X-

That's the pacesetter of multiple events to take place further into the story. Please read and review.

J.W.H. 10


	2. Chapter 2

"We'll go in through the back entrance. One of the cameras there has a blind spot which can easily be compromised." Tony Russ said to his goons as they huddled together behind their getaway van. "Once we're inside, one of you will head straight for the control room and take out the guard stationed at the security cameras. The rest of you will sweep the warehouse for any other guards and neutralize them. Understood?"

The gathered men and Mobians under his command nodded. They fixed silencers to their handguns and proceeded to move into position. A black cat named Keith who was particularly gifted in silence and stealth, quickly approached the back door to the warehouse. He paused when he noticed one of the cameras moving towards his direction and pressed himself in the shadows. His black suit helped in concealing him.

As the camera returned to its original position, Keith noticed another camera sweeping away.

Hence creating the blind spot.

The cat proceeded towards the back entrance door. He grabbed the handle and gave it a tentative push. Unsurprisingly the door was locked. Reaching into his pocket, Keith pulled out an assortment of lock picks. He selected a specific one and diligently got to work.

When the cat began picking the lock, he calculated a thirty second interval before the cameras panned back to the door. He was currently left with under fifteen seconds. He began speeding up his efforts, a bit frantically as he saw the camera turning towards him.

His efforts finally paid off when he heard the satisfying click of the lock. Throwing the door open, Keith jumped in and quickly closed the door. He breathed a huge sigh of relief. That was close.

The gangster cat pulled out a silenced Beretta and proceeded to venture inside the warehouse. He rounded a corner and saw a long corridor with a right turn at the far end. There was the possibility of a guard appearing and him getting caught. Then he would be forced to kill the unfortunate guard. Despite being a member of one of the most ruthless mobs in the country, Keith was not exactly keen on killing. But when the time came or when he had no other choice, he would have to take a life. When he was first recruited, Tarlini had squeezed out every bit of conscience and remorse he and his fellow newbies might feel about killing.

 **-FLASHBACK-**

Tarlini strutted around the room with the pride of a spoilt prince. He turned to the five greenhorns and barked. "Listen up, you runts! By joining my gang, you are integrating yourself to a life of crime. Theft, drugs, trafficking, extortion and above all: murder. So if you think it's too much and you want to pussy out, then go ahead." He had given them all a hard stare and when they didn't or so much as flinch, a smile crept upon his lips. "I take your silence as a yes. Now if you would follow me." He then walked towards a door and gestured to them.

They went down a small flight of stairs and came to a metal door. Tarlini grasped the handle and turned to the newbie gang members. "What you're going to do in this room will determine your level of trust and dedication to this cause." He opened the door with a loud creak and motioned the men inside. When they were all in, he shut the door.

That's when he heard them gasp in shock.

Kneeling on the floor were five people with black masks over their heads and their hands bound behind their backs. They were being guarded by a group of Tarlini's goons.

"Give them your guns." The mob boss ordered.

The would-be gangsters were soon armed with pistols. Tarlini gestured towards the bound captives. "No sentiment. No conscience." He turned to the newbies. "Shoot them."

Tarlini's goons removed the bags from their captives' heads, allowing them to look into the eyes of their soon-to-be killers.

One by one, like zombiefied pawns, the new gang members stonily approached a hostage, aimed their guns point blank at their hostages' heads and squeezed the triggers.

At that moment, there was nothing more satisfying for Tarlini than five dead bodies hitting the floor in pools of their own blood coming from holes in their heads.

No sentiment. No conscience.

 **-X-X-X-**

It was then and there that Keith was forged into a gang member of Tarlini's underground criminal organization.

He was snapped back from his reminiscing by a door opening and closing somewhere in the warehouse. Time was running out. He had to find the control room soon.

As he gingerly approached the bend at the corridor, he noticed, to his relief, a door to his right. Written on the door was: "CONTROL ROOM. AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY."

Just his luck.

Keith silently opened the door, gun at the ready, ready to fire at anyone that moved. Straight ahead, on display, were over a dozen monitors capturing every excruciating nook and cranny of the premises. Seated at the table by the monitors was a half awake guard; clearly not paying any attention to the cameras' live feed. The cat smiled sinisterly.

This was going to be easy.

No longer heeding stealth, Keith walked up and pressed the silenced end of his Beretta in the dozing man's face. The guard jolted awake and was just in time to glimpse a grinning cat before he pulled the trigger, the silencer doing its job in suppressing the bang. Blood and brain matter splattered the back of the seat.

Keith pulled out a walkie-talkie and switched it on. "The guard's been taken care of. All clear."

 **-X-X-X-**

Tony answered back. "Understood." He turned to his gangster team. "Alright boys, despite this sounding a little cliché: Let's lock and load!"

The gangsters leaped out from behind the van and advanced on the warehouse, guns at the ready. They went in through the back door that Keith used. This time they did not worry about stealth and practically stormed the joint, running down the corridor with their weapons drawn and ready to fire at anyone that moved and was wearing blue. Coming to a junction, they split into groups. Tony and a small group went for the main storage room while another group led by a hyena named Heath went off to another area.

They arrived at the main storage door and kicked it in. The noise startled the three guards posted inside and they quickly reached for their weapons but were not fast enough as Tony's goons already had their weapons aimed. Silent gunshots were fired and the guards dropped dead.

Tony put his gun back in his jacket. He pointed to two other gang members. "You two, guard the door in case some missed guards come in here. You, come here and help me open these crates."

He walked towards the nearest crate and the man accompanying him produced two crowbars. He set to work in prying one end of the crate open while Tony worked on the other end. Eventually the lid came off. Tony and his accomplice gazed in and the gangster let out a whistle of satisfaction.

For the crates were loaded with brand new M4 Carbine rifles.

Tony proceeded to pick one up and released the magazine. He saw that it was full. As Heath and his group entered the storage room, Tony turned to them and hoisted the weapon high in the air like a trophy. His grin turned into a victorious laugh. "Ha ha! Paydirt, boys! We've hit the motherload!"

The gangsters whooped and cheered, prematurely celebrating their heist. But Tony was quick to come back to his senses "Alright, boys, let's find some forklifts and get this booty out of here." His men bustled into action. "Hurry up! Before the cops get here."

 **-X-X-X-**

"Are you sure this is the place, Miles?" Gareth asked as he eyed the seemingly quiet warehouse.

Tails chuckled. "Trust me, Gary, this is it. A new shipment of M4 Carbines was delivered to this warehouse just this afternoon. No doubt Tarlini would cease this opportunity and rob the place clean."

A scornful scoff came from one of the agents stationed in the van. "If this is the actual place. How do we know you didn't screw this one up, Miles?" The words were from Sebastian Chandler, a human and one of the bureau's agents.

Tails merely rolled his eyes. Sebastian was Tails' rival in the agency. "Because, Sebastian, my leads are not skinny girls bribed into sending us the wrong way."

The other agents burst out laughing and Chandler went red in the face. "That was one time."

Miles waited for the laughter to die down then returned to his serious face. "Alright boys, back to business. The warehouse is only accessible by three doors: the back door that only the guards use, and the main front and back doors that are used for loading and unloading the merchandise. No doubt they are using the back doors so they will have that area guarded. We'll go in through the front doors." The two tailed fox then released the safety on his H&K MP45. "Make sure you have your weapons ready coz they sure have. So be careful or you'll be picking bullets out of your ass."

With Miles' final words, his team of agents exited their armored van and with the two tailed fox in front, they silently headed towards the warehouse.

The team approached the rusty wire fence. One of the agents took out a pair of bolt cutters and proceeded to cut through the fence. When this was done, Miles continued to lead the way towards the warehouse. In a matter of minutes they had reached the front door.

Miles said to the group. "Half of you will circle around back and make sure they don't escape through that way. Wait for the signal to spring into action."

"And what signal will that be, Prower?" Chandler sneered.

Miles smirked. "An explosion."

Chandler and his partner Bruce, a light brown dog, led half their squad round back. Tails, Gareth and the remaining agents prepared to storm the warehouse. One of the agents stuck an explosive on the door and set the timer. Now they waited.

The explosion blasted the door into shreds. It also provided them with enough cover and a good distraction against the gangsters inside.

Miles and his team burst in. "B.R.U.T.E. Force! Freeze!"

 **-X-X-X-**

Hurry up, goddammit!" Tony stood barking orders as his men hauled the last of the crates out through the back door. They had done a pretty thorough job in cleaning out the warehouse. To top it off, they did it all that with some time to spare.

As the last crate was hauled out, he went to Heath. "Is the trap for our unwanted guests all set?

The hyena grinned. "Yes, Tony. It's all ready."

Tony then clapped his hands to get the others' attention. "Then our work here is done, boys! Let's beat it!"

He waited until the last man had exited the warehouse, telling them to be careful and avoid the trap. As he walked towards the door, a loud explosion blew the front door to shreds and an all too familiar voice he had heard countless times shouted. "B.R.U.T.E. Force! Freeze!"

Half a dozen B.R.U.T.E Force agents headed by one Miles Prower rushed in. Each one of them carried a cocked and ready H&K MP45.

They had been a pain to his and Tarlini's criminal organization for over eight months, all courtesy of Miles Prower. Whenever they heard his name, it was always going to be bad news: One of their rings was brought down by him, he had arrested one of their top men or one of their more profitable buyers. Tarlini had often called him a nuisance; a thorn in their side which they will eventually pull out. But over the course of the months, when he became less of a thorn and more of a spear, Tarlini had long become infuriated with him and placed a bounty on him: Five hundred rings dead, a million alive.

Tony put his hands up in surrender. "Alright, you got me."

"Turn around." Miles barked. Tony did so without protest, with a grin on his face.

"Where is Reggio Tarlini?" Miles demanded.

"He's at a meeting." Tony replied nonchalantly.

Miles moved in closer. "Where?"

"I don't know." Tony shrugged. "He wasn't all that forthcoming."

Miles wasn't about to start a fruitless interrogation. He ordered two agents. "Take him."

The two agents moved in on Tony. The gangster remained where he was, not moving a muscle. He had a huge grin on his face.

 _That's right,_ he thought _. Come right to me. Walk right into my trap._ He felt like a vampire, hypnotizing his victim to his deathly grasp.

Something about Tony's grin unnerved Miles. _It's almost like he wants to be caught,_ he thought. _Gangsters aren't like that. Something is not right._

Miles scanned the area Tony was standing on. Then he saw it.

"Wait! Stop! It's a trap!"

But it was too late.

One of the agents stepped on the trip wire on the floor. That triggered an explosion that obliterated the two agents and sent the others sprawling on the floor. Tony quickly turned and made his escape through the warehouse's back door.

Miles quickly sprang to his feet, ignoring his throbbing head and the gash on his forehead. Blood was trickling down his cheek. Leaping through the wall of fire created by the explosion, he quickly ran after Tony.

 **-X-X-X-**

When the explosion that blew the door open was heard, Chandler and his group quickly leaped out of their hiding spots and advanced on the gangsters who were busy loading the stolen merchandise into two trucks.

"B.R.U.T.E. Force! Freeze!"

The criminals stopped what they were doing and gawked at the agents. They were surrounded by half a dozen B.R.U.T.E. Force agents, all aiming their weapons at them. Reaching for their own would mean inevitable death and trying to run would most likely earn them a bullet in the leg.

Just as it looked like they were busted, another explosion was heard inside the warehouse. The explosion provided the necessary distraction for as soon as it was heard forthe B.R.U.T.E Force agents glanced at the warehouse. It was only for a millisecond but that was all the necessary time they needed.

The gangsters quickly pulled out their weapons and opened fire on the agents. Three fell flat on the ground with blood pouring out of them while the others were forced to take cover.

With the agents scattered, the gangsters quickly closed the trucks' trailers and jumped into the vehicles. The rest ran towards the van, firing their weapons haphazardly like blind drunkards. They quickly shoved themselves into the vehicle and sped off.

Tony burst through the back door and sprinted towards the nearest truck. "Go!" He yelled at the gangster in the drivers' seat. The truck roared to life and lurched forward, barreling down the road. When his heart rate slowed down, he pulled out his phone and dialed a number. A few rings later and the phone was answered.

"Yeah, Tony, what's goin' on?"

Tony took a few calming breaths before he replied. "Boss, we ran into trouble." He paused, thinking Tarlini would yell but the other line was silent so he continued. "Miles Prower arrived and fucked things up."

"WHAT?!"

Tony had to push the phone away from his ear. It was clear that Tarlini was pissed. Before he could explain further, the line went dead at the other end.

 **-X-X-X-**

Miles reached the outside just in time to see a truck speeding away and another just starting up. He pulled out his Glock 19, aimed it at the driver's side and began firing. Eventually he was rewarded with a cry followed by a splatter of blood on the windshield. A hyena leaped out of the passenger door and attempted to run but Miles aimed his Glock at his back and fired three rounds. The hyena stumbled and fell to the ground.

Miles cautiously approached the fallen hyena. He aimed his gun directly at the Mobians face and squatted down to take a closer look. One round had embedded itself into his shoulder but the other two were in his chest and kidney respectively. Two definitely fatal wounds. Despite his injuries, the hyena still clung to what liitle life was left in him. Miles hoped to use that to his advantage.

"Where is Tarlini? Where is he?"

Heath attempted to speak but could only cough up blood. He began a violent coughing fit and then his brown eyes glazed over and he breathed his last.

The two tailed fox straightened up and walked towards the warehouse. It was carnage. Three agents were lying dead on the ground while others were nursing gunshot wounds. Adding the other two agents who were blown to smithereens inside the warehouse that totaled up to five dead and four injured.

The highest number of casualties in one mission under his command.

Ever since he had become an agent with B.R.U.T.E. Force, he had done his missions with near flawlessness and his decisions were always tactically sound. That was how he was able to get to the top so quickly. Some of the other agents thought he was just being a cocky show off. But it was from past experience that Miles was so good at what he did. And for someone who was doing it for as long as he, it was very unprofessional to have such a large body count.

A tap on his shoulder made him turn around. It was Gareth. His Kevlar vest was dirty but otherwise, he was unharmed.

"You Okay, Miles?"

The twin tailed fox gave his partner a weak smile. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Well, well, well." Chandler sauntered over to them, exaggerating his footsteps as if he was marching. "You really screwed up big on this mission, Prower. Five dead, four injured. Director Gallard's gonna have a real fun time laying it into you on a mission gone bad."

Tails merely shrugged. "Better me than you, Sebastian. If it was you facing Director Gallard, you would most definitely be standing in a puddle of your own piss."

Gareth laughed for a bit but quieted down when the other agents glared at him. Miles tugged his arm. "Come on, Gary, let's go. Drinks are on me.

 **-X-X-X-**

Miles downed only his second shot and gasped slightly. He glanced at Gareth and saw him down his with relative ease. He had to admit, he was really impressed at how the squirrel could hold his liquor.

"How do you manage it?" Tails asked.

Gareth poured himself another whiskey and knocked it back. "Do what?"

The fox gestured to the bottle. "Drink this stuff and still feel the same."

Gareth shrugged. "Years of practice. I started drinking when I was seventeen." When Miles didn't comment, Gareth decided to change the subject. "How about you, Miles? How did you get so good at being a B.R.U.T.E. Force agent that you get promoted to special agent in under a year?"

Miles poured himself another glass and sipped it. "You wouldn't believe me."

"Try me."

Miles put his glass down. "You remember the Robotnik Coup?"

Gareth looked confused but went with it. "Yeah."

The fox continued. "I was part of a group of rebels called the Freedom Fighters. We secretly fought against Robotnik's forces and remained underground and arcane. I went on my first mission when I was ten years old and kept going until I was fifteen and Robotnik's Empire fell. That's how I'm so good at being an agent."

Gareth remained silent for a while, processing what was just said. Then he suddenly burst out laughing, almost toppling of his chair. Most of the bar goers simply dismissed him as a drunk and the bartender came and took their half empty bottle away.

The squirrel didn't even seem to mind. "Well, you must be drunker than I thought, Miles. You mean to say that you and a bunch of underground vigilantes are part of the reason the Robotnik Empire fell?"

Miles rolled his eyes. "I knew you wouldn't believe me." He stood up and tugged his chuckling friend. "Come on, dude, let's go."

Gareth checked his watch. "Not yet. I have a date."

Tails knew exactly what Gareth meant. "Is that what we're calling hookers nowadays?"

Gareth feigned and offended look. "Miles, hooker is a very strong word. Think of her as a… friend. With benefits."

As if on cue, a scantily dressed Mobian mouse approached Gareth and sat in his lap. The squirrel put his hand on her waist and caressed her bodacious behind.

"Miles, meet Sierra."

"Hey." Miles said. He didn't offer a hand and neither did she. She just smirked seductively at him.

"Is this your friend, Gary? He's so cute." She purred.

Tails ignored her compliment. "OK, you got what you came for, Gareth. Now let's go."

 **-X-X-X-**

Gareth dropped Miles off at his apartment then proceeded to head home himself to spend some 'quality time' with his slut. As he rode the elevator to his floor, his sleepy brain started to ask him some questions regarding his social life; on the romantic side. When was he going to get a girlfriend?

He was in a relationship with a certain girl named Cream when he was in high school. She was sweet, kind, polite and loving. But in Gareth's terms, he said she 'lacked curves' because her body looked 'underage'. But Tails ignored Gareth's taunts of 'dating a board' and went on with Cream until they ended their relationship when Cream went to college in Sunny City.

But Cream wasn't his first girlfriend. There was another, one who truly stole his heart, one who would never be replaced, one who he really loved.

Even though they had never seen or spoken to each other in over six years.

Tails unlocked his apartment and went inside. He didn't need to turn on the lights to see where he was going for he knew every nook and cranny of his small apartment. That and he had excellent night vision. He went to his room and stripped down to his boxers and fell like a tree on his bed, not bothering to get under the covers, despite the cold. He glanced at his alarm clock and saw that it was roughly 1:30AM.

Thank goodness tomorrow would be a Saturday and he wouldn't have to worry about being late for anything. Sighing in exhaustion, the two tailed fox finally allowed sleep to consume him.

A/N: I too am sooooo tired but I had to persevere to finish this chapter. Please read and review. Falling asleep now…

J.W.H. 10


	3. Chapter 3

If there was a time that Tony Russ was scared out of his pants, then this was it. To think that someone who had spent most of his life facing near-death experiences with cops and rival gangs, he would not be scared of a little "pep talk." But with Reggio Tarlini, the outcome was always unpredictable.

Which was why as he sat in Tarlini's office, waiting for his boss' wrath to descend upon him, he found himself shaking like an old sick man.

Tarlini entered the office and Tony stiffened. He went straight to his desk and lit a cigarette. "So, Tony, tell me how last night's heist turned out."

Tony knew exactly where Tarlini was going with this. But refusal to answer meant a despicable punishment. Or worse. "Well, after we secured the merchandise, we were… interrupted by B.R.U.T.E. Force."

The mob boss nodded calmly. "And who was leading them?"

Tony breathed. "Miles Prower."

Tarlini took a deep drag on the cigarette. "Miles Prower. Prower, Prower, Prower. You know, ever since he came into the picture, my business has gone downhill. He has brought down most of our operations, taken down five of our best areas of business and arrested some of my best men!" As he spoke, his voice gradually rose and his calm demeanor vanished. Breathing heavily, Reggio pulled out his Desert Eagle.

Tony broke into a sweat and fidgeted uncomfortably in his seat.

Tarlini continued. "Whom did they apprehend last night?"

Tony stammered for a bit. "Th- The- They got J- Joe. A- and Heath."

Tarlini lightly tapped the barrel of his gun on his head. "Heath, Heath, Heath, man, I liked Heath. So full of potential that guy. And the goods?"

"Only one truck, the one I was in, managed to make it out." Tony stated. "Joe and Heath's truck had some problems starting. That's probably how they got caught."

Tarlini snuffed out his cigarette in a glass ashtray and lit another. "One truck was stopped. Which means that we've only acquired about half of our intended target. That really sets us back, Tony." He began pacing the room, sucking on his cigarette as if the carbon monoxide was precious oxygen. "And with all our other operations closed down and our resources limited, we would most likely run out of cash in five months. Then I would lose my place. And my face.

The crime boss went back to his chair and plopped down on it. Things were really starting to look down for his criminal empire. Eleven months ago, he was practically swimming in money and boasting a rich influence in Mobotropolis' underground criminal organization. Add Miles Prower to the equation and everything gradually started to fall apart. This fox was really starting to get under his skin. No, scratch that. He had already penetrated the skin and was now drilling through his bone. Was there a way out of this?

Then he remembered the map.

Tarlini finished off his cigarette and threw the butt into the ashtray. He turned to his trembling deputy and a grin found its way onto his face. "Maybe all isn't lost, Tony."

Tony was now confused. "Boss?"

Reggio pulled a drawer open and took out the crudely folded map. He tossed it to his subordinate.

Tony picked it up and unfolded it. "What's this?"

"It's a map, stupid."

"Yeah but to where?" Tony asked.

Tarlini stood up and twirled his Desert Eagle. "Remember that meeting I went to last night?"

Tony nodded.

The mob boss continued. "Well, turns out the one who called that meeting made an offer. An offer so ludicrous, it's tantalizingly alluring."

Now Tony was really confused. "Well, what was the offer?"

Tarlini grinned. "Opportunity." Before Tony could ask some more, he ordered, "Go get my car ready. I'll be out in an hour.

 **-X-X-X-**

Reggio sat in the backseat of his black Mercedes E-Class with Tony alongside him whilst a driver took care of the driving. Despite being Mobotropolis' most wanted man, he could still drive around the city without anyone noticing him. He was hiding in plain sight. The police would look at his car and simply brush him off as any regular citizen.

Tony had fully unfurled the map and was studying it as one would study a blueprint: continuously turning it over and over and scrutinizing certain areas.

"Hmm. According to the map, we should exit the city via the Front Road. From there, we should be heading west until we come to a place called… the Treacherous Twist? From there, it's just a hop, skip and a jump to Hollow Hill."

Tarlini nodded. "Good. Driver, to the Front Road."

With the luxury of just sitting idle whilst his lackeys did all the work, the crime boss relaxed and took in the view of the city. Everyone went about their business like on every typical Saturday morning: The adults were out a morning stroll or jog, teenagers hanging out at the mall or bragging about who was first to buy the recently released iPhone and children playing together in the park and in other recreational areas.

It was moments like this that Reggio Tarlini yearned to be normal. To live like everybody else and not having to worry about a criminal record or in his case: a falling criminal empire.

Soon they were passing Maximilian Square, which overlooked the Royal Palace. Strangely enough, Tarlini found himself staring at it longer than was necessary. He often told himself that unlike him, the queen pretty much went about her business as easily as one would dress himself. Seven years on the throne and she had already put everything right in the country and restored it to its former glory like before the Coup of Robotnik. To sum it up, she did more ruling an entire country in seven years than he could ever do in his fifteen years of managing a single city's organized crime.

As they passed Maximilian Park, Reggio suddenly froze.

"If we take a shortcut through Robinson Avenue, we could reach the Front Road quicker. Right, boss?" Tony asked his boss. When he did not reply, the mob deputy nudged him lightly. "Boss?"

Still no reply. Tony then noticed Tarlini staring out the window as if he was hypnotized. The mob boss' hands slowly began to tremble. Tony followed his line of sight and he now understood his boss' strange behavior.

About fifty yards away, on a park bench, sat Miles Prower. He was amiably chatting with a blue hedgehog.

With trembling hands, Tarlini mechanically reached into his jacket. Tony knew what he was going to do and quickly grabbed his boss' arm.

"No, boss, no! Not out here, not like this."

Reggio shook his head and realized what he was about to do. As much as he would love to, he just couldn't kill Miles out in the open like this. Not in the daytime. Taking a deep breath, he released his grip on his Desert Eagle. "Shit. I don't know what came over me." He reached into his jacket again and pulled out his pack of cigarettes and a gold lighter. He lit one up and looked out the window towards Miles' position.

He saw the blue hedgehog shake the twin tailed fox as if awakening him from a daydream. They talked for a bit and then they laughed. The sight sickened him. To see the cause of his problems over fifty yards away, as vulnerable and exposed as prey and he not being able to do anything clawed at him. But he dismissed those thoughts.

He took a long drag of the cigarette and turned to the driver. "Hey, driver, take a left at the next light.

 **-X-X-X-**

They had been driving for the better part of thirty minutes. They had left the city behind and were now travelling on the highway. They could see small farms flanking the road.

Tarlini grew bored and turned to Tony. "How far is it?"

Tony looked at the map thoughtfully. "Hmm according to the map, we might be passing through Jacob's wheat farm. The Treacherous Twist should be just ahead.

The mob boss reclined in his seat and took out his phone. Soon, he was engrossed in it. Tony assumed he was just playing some addictive game. To see his boss in such a mellow state brought a smile to his face. He was the only one to whom Tarlini would truly express himself. It was rare for bosses to show this level of openness towards those they considered their lackeys.

Eventually, the driver came at a crossroads. A sign marked the roads to his left and right but not the one in the middle. He turned to the backseat. "Which way do we go next?"

Tony studied the map for a moment and then pointed straight ahead. "We go straight through."

The driver stared at the road in disbelief. It was a dirt road with bushes and shrubs growing on it. Obviously it had never been used in a long time so surely this couldn't be the road.

"Are you sure this is the way?" He asked skeptically. "Coz this road looks obsolete."

Tony leaned forward and shoved the map in the driver's face. "That's what the map says, damn it!"

The driver nervously glanced at the map. Sure enough, the highlighted road indicated that they go straight through. "So the Treacherous Twist is through there." He pointed to the . Shrugging his shoulders, he turned back to the wheel and put the car in drive. The Mercedes slowly cut through the weed infested road. They could hear the gravel crunching under the car and the scratching of the bushes on the car's paintjob.

Eventually the road cleared and they started to head down. When the trees finally cleared, they could finally see Hollow Hill. It lay in a valley surrounded by larger mountains. It was perfectly hidden from the view of prying eyes and curious hikers.

The car suddenly lurched violently to the right and coming to an abrupt stop. Startled, Tarlini put away his phone and smacked the driver on the head. "You idiot! What the fuck is your problem?"

The driver pointed to the road with a trembling finger. "I think I now know why they call this road the Treacherous Twist."

Tarlini and Tony looked out the window and gasped. The road was just a winding raised strip that stood in between two steep gorges. One slip up of the wheel from the driver and they would plummet several feet to their certain death.

Tarlini relaxed himself and nudged the driver. "Drive carefully."

The driver slowly moved the car forward. Fortunately the road was wide enough for the Mercedes to move without precariously going closer to the edge. The twisting road however made that difficult and he had to slow down whenever he came to a turn.

Tarlini slumped in his chair. _This is going to take a while_ he thought. Scourge might even hit him with irony considering the hedgehog was late for the previous meeting. Now he was going to be late for this one.

After what felt like hours, they had finally crossed the Treacherous Twist. Tony sighed in relief. "Finally." But he was not expecting what lay ahead.

Just straight ahead from the road, was a dead end. They found themselves staring at a large, flat rock face. There were no other roads leading elsewhere, just the road with which they came from. Reggio growled and punched the seat in front of him. "That's it? Scourge just led us out in the middle of nowhere for nothing?!" He turned to his subordinate with blazing eyes. "You read the map wrong, you dimwit!"

Tony stammered. Bu- Bu- But that's what the map says. Th- this is where it leads us!"

"Well, there's nothing here!" Tarlini pulled out his Beretta. He desperately needed to shoot someone, to let out his anger.

He was interrupted from his thoughts by a deep rumbling which was causing a light tremor. Then to their amazement, the rock face appeared to split in half. The three men watched wide eyed as the rock opened inward like double doors. Inside, they could just make out a Mobian coyote standing with his arms behind his back. The very picture of smugness.

"You're late. Get in." He said then turned and headed back inside.

Tony nudged the driver, who was still stupefied at the sight. "Well, let's go. We ain't got all day."

The driver put the car into drive and drove the car into the opening. As soon as he was in, the rumbling and slight tremor began again and the rock face doors slowly closed. It was like they had just entered an ancient city. The darkness in the mountain forced the driver to switch on the headlights. Inside they could see numerous other cars parked in the sides, presumably belonging to the other crime bosses. He found an available spot and parked the Mercedes.

Tarlini and Tony stepped out and saw the coyote standing at a door that led to a lit corridor.

"This way, gentlemen."

They followed the coyote through the door. They headed down a wide semi lit corridor. Tony looked around in awe. If this Scourge character was just a regular criminal like Tarlini said, then how could he possibly have a hideout like this?

"So tell me… uh… I didn't get your name." Tony said.

The coyote turned back and grinned. "I never told you my name. It's Snide."

Tony continued on. "Snide. Tell me how someone as unpopular and uninfluential as Scourge get such a hideout as this?"

Snide chuckled. "Scourge found this place. During the Freedom War, this was a military base. Once the war ended, this base was supposed to be decommissioned and destroyed. They probably forgot to do so. So Scourge made this his hideout." They turned a corner and approached a door. "It's also the ideal place for Scourge to launch his plan."

"What plan?" Tony asked.

They reached the door and Snide opened it, ushering them inside. "That's what you are going to find out."

 **-X-X-X-**

Reggio and Tony entered a large room which was mostly filled with small high definition computers on one side and different chemicals on the other. They assumed this was a lab of some kind. In the centre of the room sat the other criminals present at the meeting: Nack, Kukku XV and Sato. Amongst them were others whom Tarlini did not know. Those, he assumed were Scourge's lackeys. Then he saw that red vixen that came with Scourge, the one he called Fiona. She sat at the front, alongside a large Mobian gorilla and a brown Mobian lynx.

Scourge himself stood at the front, next to a very large monitor screen which displayed schematics of some sort. He surveyed the seated contingent and smirked. "Now that everyone is here, we can finally get down to business. Now I'm sure most of you are asking yourselves these questions: 'was he serious when he said he was going to conquer Mobius? How is he going to achieve something like this?' Well, it's quite simple. Barry." He turned to a mouse seated at one of the computers. "Begin."

Barry typed away at his keyboard and the screen flicked to display something else: a motion picture in 3-D of what appeared to be three strange looking vehicles.

"I give you… Project Cerberus!" Scourge announced. "Three battleships, fully armed with explosive weapons, machine guns, incendiaries and all that." He clicked a button on a remote he was carrying and one of the battleships on the screen enlarged and certain specific areas were highlighted. Then Scourge's aforementioned weapons appeared and fused into the highlighted areas. "We will use these ships to attack the city and send a message to the rest of the country."

"What?! Are you's insane, man?" Nack exclaimed. "You's plan to conquer this planet by destroying it?"

"No." Scourge replied calmly. "The plan isn't to destroy the planet completely." He turned Barry. "Barry, display the map."

The mouse typed away at his keyboard and a map of the country appeared.

"We'll first start by conquering the country." Barry then zoomed in on Mobotropolis. "Using this city as a demonstration of our power and to show the rest of the country what we are capable of."

Sato stood up. "Of all the crimes I have ever heard of, this is the most heinous! You plan to kill millions of innocent people just so you could establish your own dictatorship? And you want us to be a part of it?"

Scourge's calm demeanor slowly began to dissolve. "How many innocent people have you and the Silent Shadows killed? And you have done it for trivial things. Burglaries, assassinations for lesser people." The hedgehog began pacing the room with his hands clasped behind his back. "But now you are being provided with an opportunity to kill with purpose. For once the crimes you commit will have purpose. You will not merely steal and kill for money."

The leader of the Silent Shadows silently resumed his seat.

Scourge stopped pacing and returned to the monitor. He pressed a button and the three battleships appeared on the map of Mobotropolis. "So the three ships will each attack a part of the city. Battleship three will attack the downtown area. Battleship two will attack the residential and suburban areas. Battleship one, which will be occupied by me, will attack the Royal Palace and surrounding areas." As he spoke, each corresponding battleship was moved into its mentioned position.

"What about us?" Kukku XV asked.

"You guys can indulge yourselves in the other battleships." Scourge replied. "I intend to go to the Palace to have a 'personal' chat with the queen."

"Hey, what did she's ever do to you?" Nack hinted with a devilish smirk.

This made the hedgehog chuckle. "No, that's not what I meant. You see, The Robotnik Coup that happened sixteen years ago exposed this country's weakness: The Royal Family. The Royal Family was, and is still too weak to rule this country. That's why Robotnik was able to overthrow their government so long ago." He resumed his pacing. "After Robotnik's downfall, the Royal family reassumed the throne with their last remaining seed: Queen Sally."

A picture of the Queen filled the monitor screen.

"So I hope you now all understand. We must remove this weak bloodline from the throne. And replace it with a more stronger, more resolute one: Me." Scourge pointed to himself smugly.

Tony could not hold back a snicker. "I'm sorry. I just still can't believe you are capable of achieving something like this." This earned him a scowl from Scourge. " But of course I'm willing to give it a shot. And support you every step of the way."

The hedgehog's countenance softened. "Great. So are you in?"

"Hells yeah, I'm in." Nack said quickly, standing up.

"Me, too." Kukku XV stood as well.

Sato shrugged his shoulders. "Oh, what the hell. Count me in."

Tarlini, who had stayed quiet throughout the whole presentation, finally spoke up. "I assume you have all the necessary resources to perform such an undertaking as this."

"No." Scourge replied nonchalantly. "That is where you all come in."

"Wait. You mean to say that you don't have the battleships and weapons right now?" Nack demanded.

"If I already had them, then I wouldn't need all of you." Scourge smiled to himself at the effect the words had on the gathered group. "Remember, I said each and every one of you has a part to play in this endeavor. And that includes helping me get the resources: the weapons and the raw material needed to build these battleships."

"So that means…" Nack's face brightened.

"We have to steal them." Kukku XV finished.

Scourge grinned widely. "Now you're getting it."

Then Nack remembered something. "Hold on a minute. Once we's helps you conquer this planet, what's in it for us?"

Scourge thought for a moment. "Hmm. Once we conquer the country, your groups will each get their own city. Once we conquer the planet, you will each get a country."

That seemed to satisfy the criminal heads and soon they began to chatter amongst themselves. But then Tarlini remembered something.

"What about the authorities?"

The green hedgehog scoffed mockingly. "Ha! The authorities? They'll be too busy chasing their own asses before they ever get any closer to catching us."

Reggio shook his head. "No, no, no. It's not the authorities, per se, it's someone much worse: Miles Prower."

"So? He's just one person?" Scourge said dryly.

"You don't understand. This one person has really put a huge dent in my business. You better not underestimate him. He can surely be a nuisance once he gets word of what we're planning."

Tarlini's warning only made Scourge roll his eyes. "Hey, easy with the foreboding attitude. It's bad for morale." He turned to his assembled crew. "We will proceed with Project Cerberus as planned. This meeting is now adjourned. You will all go and disseminate this news to your respective gangs and we'll meet back here on Monday. Understood?"

They all muttered back a curt "Yes."

The hedgehog nodded. "Good." With that, he walked out of the room, closely followed by the red vixen.

 **-X-X-X-**

As the gang leaders made their way to the exit, Nack couldn't stop buzzing about the whole thing. "I can't believe it. I'm gonna gets my own city! Maybe even a whole country. And all we's gots to do is steal a few tons of metal and weapons."

Sato quickly put a damper on his enthusiasm. "If we are able to succeed in this endeavor. Scourge seems to think it will be a cakewalk but I would be cautious if I were him."

The weasel laughed mockingly. "Scourge is just being confident. And you's better be too."

Kukku XV turned to Tarlini. "By the way, Mr. Tarlini, who is this Miles Prower character you brought up? You made it sound like he's some kind of super cop."

Reggio looked straight ahead as he spoke. "Believe me, guys. Once Prower gets involved, this whole mission will fall apart."

 **-X-X-X-**

Fiona had to jog before she finally caught up with Scourge. "Scourge, wait. Don't you think we should take Tarlini's warning about Miles Prower seriously?"

The green hedgehog stopped and chuckled. "Come on, Fiona, seriously? Whoever this Prower guy is, he's just one person. And one person is hardly enough to stop what we've got planned."

Fiona persisted. "But what if he has friends? People who are actually capable of stopping us?"

This time Scourge scowled and he reeled on the vixen. "Don't tell me Tarlini's words have also gotten to you too. All right, listen. If Miles Prower decides to interfere in our business, we'll give him and his friends a convincing message to stay away." His face darkened. "But if he truly is the nuisance that Tarlini makes him out to be, then _I_ will personally see to his immediate termination."

Fiona gasped silently and Scourge smiled. He leaned in close to her ear and whispered:

"After all, he won't even know what hit him."

In a flash, Scourge was gone. Fiona could hear his maniacal laughter echoing in the halls.

 **-X-X-X-**

Well that's it for another chapter. Many thanks to those who are reviewing, following and favoriting this story. You guys rock. Please keep reading and reviewing.

J.W.H. 10


	4. Chapter 4

Miles was woken up by the sound of his phone ringing. He groaned in frustration and tried to ignore it but with ears as sensitive as his, it was like the phone was directly inside his head. He gave up and reached for his phone on the bedside table. It was not there. He forced more of the sleep out of him and looked around for his phone. Then he remembered. He left it in his pants pocket. And his pants were lying on the floor.

Just great.

Miles forced himself out of bed, despite how tired he was feeling, and picked up his pants. He searched through the pockets and eventually found it. He answered it without bothering to check the caller ID, not all that eager to find out who was calling. If it was Gareth calling for some stupid reason involving one of his hookers, then Miles would just hang up and make a mental note to punch the squirrel when they would meet up. If it was the Bureau calling about some evidence they found relating to last night's failed operation, then he would just tell them he would be there some time in the afternoon.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Tails, it's me, buddy."

Miles immediately perked up upon hearing his nickname. Only a few people called him "Tails" and only one did it regularly. "Hey, Sonic. How have you been, man?"

"Oh, you know. Just been busy here at the Palace."

Sonic had been working at the Palace in helping Sally rebuild and reshape the country after the fall of the Robotnik Empire.

Speaking of Sally, "So how are things between you and Sally? I thought you two would be married by now."

Sonic cleared his throat at the other end. "Well… things have been… look, can I just tell you later? She's not the reason I called."

Miles pinned the phone in between his ear and shoulder as he searched his closet for his clothes for the day. "So, what's up?"

"Well, it's been over three months since we last saw each other and I really miss my little bro."

Tails laughed at Sonic's calling him his "little bro". From the very beginning, Miles couldn't remember being close to anyone else other than the blue hedgehog. "So, you want to meet up later in the day?"

"Sure. At Maximilian Park. Around ten. That's when I'll be free. And if you're not busy."

Miles lay his clothes on his unmade bed. "Sure. I'll see you then." He said and then hung up. He looked at his watch and saw that it was just going to nine. He had planned to sleep in until after eleven but because it was Sonic, it would be worth it.

Clad in only his boxers, Miles walked to his kitchen to get breakfast started. One of the perks of living alone in an apartment was not worrying about anyone seeing him in such a state of undress. Hell, he could even walk around nude but he was not that kind of fox.

As much as Tails would have wanted to make a delicious breakfast of pancakes or French toast, he just did not have the time. So he settled on some cereal and milk. While he ate, he decided to check out the news. He walked to his living room and switched on the TV, immediately going to the news channel.

Surprise, surprise. Last night's heist was the top story.

"… more than two million rings* worth of firearms and ammunition were stolen from here last night. This has been confirmed as the one of the repeated thefts made by notorius mob boss and crime lord, Reggio Tarlini, who is wanted for numerous counts of theft, arms dealings, extortion, trafficking and murder. At least five B.R.U.T.E. Force agents were killed in the gunfight that ensued and others were injured. Two of Tarlini's men were shot dead."

Miles could see the warehouse in the background, with the yellow police tape surrounding it and a small number of agents bustling about. They would probably call him there since he was the lead agent in charge of the case but right now, he would just have to wait and see if forensics could do whatever they could to find any sort of vital evidence.

Miles finished his cereal and switched off the TV. He checked the time and saw that he had just over forty minutes to prepare himself for his meeting with Sonic. He got up and headed for the bathroom.

 **-X-X-X-**

Miles parked his black Audi s5 in the parking lot near Maximilian Park. He checked his watch and arrived just ten minutes late of the agreed time. Well, he had himself to blame, considering how long he had stayed in the shower and checking himself out in the mirror.

He scanned the area of the park within his line of sight but could not locate his blue hedgehog friend. The park was the largest in Mobotropolis so he could not just go covering every square inch of the park looking for him. Unless he had Sonic's speed.

He had another idea.

Miles pulled out his phone and wrote a text to Sonic: "I am at the parking lot." And clicked "send". Then he waited. _Man, Charles was right_ he thought to himself. _It is all about texting nowadays._

He did not have to wait long, as he received a text from the hedgehog: "Be there in a second."

And he literally was there in a second, speeding in and stopping just a few centimeters from Miles' face.

"What took you, little bro?"

The two tailed fox reared back. "Whoa, Sonic, personal space, man. And besides, you're one to talk about punctuality. You said you would be here in one second but it took you two. Someone is losing their touch."

Sonic laughed at the jest. He moved in to hug Miles and the vulpine did likewise. But just as they were about to make contact, they both pulled back, laughing.

"Nah! Men don't hug." They said simultaneously.

The two lifelong friends strolled through the park. It had been so long since they last saw each other, much less talked directly prior to this little meeting.

"So how is it, working at B.R.U.T.E. Force?" Sonic asked.

Miles kicked a rock on the footpath and shrugged. "It's like what we used to do back when we were fighting Robotnik. Except this time you're not just dealing with one man but an entire group. And they're not robots with a single programming, which makes them all the more unpredictable."

Sonic chuckled. "But they are still a bunch of dumbasses, right?"

Miles sat down on a park bench, laughing as he remembered a memory. Yeah, most of them are. Last month, this guy actually tried to sell illegal drugs to Gareth and me. And we had our badges in plain sight and everything. You think the guy could take a hint." He imitated the drug dealer. "He was like 'hey, you cops want to get high?'" He mimicked the drug dealer opening his jacket. "' I got all the good shit right here.'"

Sonic burst out laughing. "That guy really was dumb. And he actually said the word 'cops'. He must have been high on his own supply."

Miles joined in the laughter but continued. "After we arrested and interrogated him, the information he spilled helped us bring down one of the country's most powerful drug lords.

"Well, that was serendipitous." Sonic remarked. He could not have imagined a more obvious gift on a silver platter for any law enforcer.

Miles turned to him. "Enough about my line of work. How about you? How is it like, working at the Palace?"

The azure hedgehog shrugged nonchalantly. "Oh, you know Sally. Everything must be perfect. As per her expectations." Miles and Sonic had often been annoyed by Sally's perfectionist attitude. She was always striving to ensure the topmost results. It was one of the things that made her a great leader. Also one of the things that put her under a lot of stress.

"You're going to get a lot of that really hard once you two get married." The twin tailed fox chuckled but when he turned to Sonic, the blue speedster had a somber look on his face.

"Yeah, about that…" He said with an indifferent expression.

Miles grew apprehensive. "What's wrong?" He asked.

Sonic sighed and looked straight at the road in the distance. "There is no wedding."

"What?" Miles exclaimed. He was honestly surprised. When Sonic and Sally started dating, they could hardly keep their hands to themselves, often caressing and fondling each other. On more than one occasion in Knothole, he would catch them in Sally's office, making out. Sometimes with most of their clothes missing. Of course Miles had merely dismissed it as true love and had already labeled them as future husband and wife.

 **-FLASHBACK-**

A fourteen year old Miles burst into Sally's office, slightly out of breath. "Sally, Rotor found another one of Robotnik's…" He looked up and grimaced at what he saw. "Oh, for the love of… not again!"

Sally sat on her desk, clad in a bra but still wearing her shorts, thank God. Her legs were spread wide and Sonic occupied that area between them, his belt unbuckled but his pants still on.

"Tails!" They exclaimed at once, their faces flushed red like cherries. Sally quickly picked up her shirt and covered her front while Sonic buckled his pants back on and continuously rubbed his hand down his crotch, obviously to calm his erection down.

The sight disgusted Miles but he sucked it up. "Rotor found another one of Robotnik's labs. We'll be heading there right away. Now, if you two are done with your consummation, I would appreciate it if you would act more professional on this, Sally." He dropped a paper he was looking at on her desk, turned and left the office.

"Right." Sally's voice sounded hoarse. She turned to Sonic. "you go on ahead." She pulled him in close and whispered seductively in his ear."If you do a great job, you know what's waiting for you when you get back."

The blue hedgehog grinned widely. "Ooh, me likey." He followed Tails down the hall, leaving the chipmunk half naked and horny.

The two tailed fox looked straight ahead as he walked, not acknowledging the hedgehog.

"Oh come on, Tails. Don't tell me you're mad at me." Sonic tried to reason with his friend who just stonily walked along like a wheel.

"Are you in love with her?" Miles asked without turning.

The hedgehog was confused with the question but he answered it anyway. "Yeah, I do."

"And she loves you back?"

"Uh huh." Sonic raised. His eyebrow. What was Tails getting at?

"Then why should I be mad at you, Sonic?" Miles finally turned to Sonic, grinning his heart out.

The blue hedgehog heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness you understand, little bro."

"Oh, I'm not the only one." Tails smirked.

Sonic's eyes grew as saucers. "You mean…?"

The twin tailed vulpine nodded. "Yep. Everybody knows."

They reached the outside and saw the armored jeep parked, with Antoine and Bunnie D'Coolette already inside, waiting for them.

Miles got in the backseat. "Antoine even joked that there might be a wedding."

Sonic laughed it off. "Nah, I don't think I'm ready for that kind of commitment. Besides, Sally has already got her hands full with all of this."

Antoine, who was in the driver's seat turned around. "I meant when all this is over." He said in his thick French accent.

"You guys are lucky to already be married." Miles put in. He nudged Sonic in the ribs. "If you do decide to have a wedding, just remember who to pick as your best man."

The blue hedgehog chuckled. "Oh, you know it little bro."

The doors of the hidden tree base opened again and someone stepped out, heading towards the jeep. Bunnie leaned backwards and whispered to Sonic. The hedgehog smirked and nudged Tails in his ribs. "You should also remember whom to pick as your best man at your wedding. With…" He gestured to the approaching vixen.

"Oh, hell no!" the two tailed fox laughed and pretty soon everyone joined in. it died down when the vixen reached the vehicle.

"What were you guys laughing about?" She asked as she got in.

"Oh it was nuthin', Fiona." Bunnie replied. "Just an inside joke."

She got in through Miles' side of the door, putting him in the middle. In all his timid instincts, the twin tailed fox to scooched over to Sonic's side so hard he was pressing the hedgehog against the door. He shoved Miles back to his side. Then an idea struck him. It was going to be cruel but if it would help the vulpine get out of his shell of shyness, it was worth the risk.

"Hey, Fiona, when we're finished with the mission, Tails has something to tell you."

"Oh, does he now?" She asked, eyeing Miles sweetly.

The fox could only gulp and nod his head.

In the front, Antoine and Bunnie could only hold in their snickers as they drove off to their mission.

 **-X-X-X-**

"Antoine and Bunnie are gonna be devastated once they here about this." Miles said. "Especially Antoine. He was really looking forward to being your wedding planner."

This talk about weddings and his finished love life was starting to bug Sonic. He decided to pass the hot potato. "So how about you? Found anyone?"

Miles slumped on the table and sighed. "You know no one can replace her. She captured my heart and no one else can take her place."

He stared at the road, silently reminiscing about the good times he had shared with Fiona in their seven month long relationship. He actually felt that they could go somewhere; they would live to see the Robotnik Empire fall, then concentrate on each other, get married and have a family. But all those prospects were shattered completely when he heard that she had to go away. And that she would never come back. It tore him apart and he completely lost all purpose of living.

Only when he learnt that she was actually chased away, did he suddenly feel an apoplectic rage. Rage so deep towards the one who chased her.

Miles idly focused on the cars that passed by on the nearby road. His attention focused on a black Mercedes E-Class sedan occupied by a driver and two passengers riding at the back.

Wait a second. There was something else about those passengers…

The two tailed fox squinted his eyes to get a better look at them.

"Tails? Tails? Tails!" He felt a hand on his shoulder and was shaken so violently, he thought there was an earthquake.

Sonic released his shoulder. "You were thinking about her, weren't you?"

In a moment like this, Miles did not want to bring her up any further but he also did not want to talk about work and the criminals he was going after so he nodded his head. "Yeah. I miss her."

"Good to know I'm not the only one who has got the broken heart blues." Sonic quipped.

Miles broke into a smile, which in turn, broke out into a full blown laugh.

"Now there's the cheery little bro that I know." Sonic stood up. "All this sitting and talking has given me itchy legs. Come on, let's get out of here."

 **-X-X-X-**

After an hour of letting out some pent up energy, Miles and Sonic stopped at the nearby restaurant for lunch.

Sonic wiped the sauce off his hands with a napkin. "She misses you, you know."

Miles looked up from his French Fries. "Who?"

"Sally. She said you rarely visit her at the Palace." The blue hedgehog took a bite out of his chicken.

Miles rolled his eyes. "Can't she come out?"

Sonic sighed. "You know she's got a very busy schedule. But she can always make time for you."

Miles said nothing.

"Look, Tails, whatever animosity you bear towards her, she wants you to know she's sorry."

The twin tailed fox laughed humorlessly. "Animosity is a very strong word, Sonic. Think of it more as a lack of respect."

Sonic was bewildered. "You no longer respect Sally? What for?"

"She never told you?" Tails asked looking up. "Well, if you're ever going to find out, then you will find out. From her and her alone."

"OK…" Sonic answered, his curiosity rising. What did Sally do to make Tails hate her all of a sudden?

"But if it pleases you… and her, I'll stop by later today."

The speedy hedgehog nodded. "OK."

The fox was interrupted by the ringing of his phone. He fished it out of his pocket and checked the ID. "I have to take this. It's one of the forensic scientists." He swiped the screen. "Prower… Go on… alright, I'm on my way." He hung up and turned to his hedgehog friend.

"I have to go. It's important." He left some money on the table and turned to the door.

Sonic called after him. "Will you still be able to go see Sally?"

"Tomorrow." Miles said over his shoulder.

 **-X-X-X-**

The warehouse was even more horrible to look at in the daytime than at night. The blood spatters were so vivid when not obscured by the nighttime darkness. The yellow police tape surrounded the entire perimeter of the warehouse. The news reporters had long since gone to hunt some other front page material. Miles parked his Audi next to a B.R.U.T.E. Force van and got out. He walked straight to the scientist who knelt beside the body of the hyena.

"Alright, Serena, what have you got?"

Serena, a bright young Mobian bat, who was constantly hit on by Gareth- with her turning him down, of course- pulled out a very small piece of paper from the dead hyena's pocket with a pair of tweezers. It was covered in blood. "I got this."

Miles' look of expectation quickly dissolved into one of disappointment. "Really, Serena? You went through all that trouble just to show me a bloody piece of paper?"

Serena merely shook her head in a condescending manner, as if she was chiding a child. "Oh, Miles. You're such a simpleton."

"Excuse me?" Now Miles was getting irritated.

She ignored him and continued. "You see, this may just look like an ordinary scrap of paper to the untrained eye. But to trained people, such as myself, you can see that there is a name written on here."

"What does it say?" The twin tailed fox asked, his namesakes stirring with impatience.

"I can't read anything with the blood in the way. And I can't remove it physically without damaging the paper." Serena walked to her briefcase. "But it's nothing a little science can't fix."

She opened her briefcase to reveal what looked like a built in computer of some kind. Miles, who was no stranger to computers, gawked at this advanced piece of engineering.

"Where did you get this?" He asked, still marveling at the computer.

"It was a gift from a very good friend of mine." Serena replied dryly. She opened a small compartment and carefully laid the bloodied paper inside. After closing it, the paper was displayed on the computer's monitor. "Now, we just get the blood off…" She pressed a few keys and the blood slowly disappeared from the paper, revealing the name that was obscured.

Miles tapped his foot on the ground, his patience running out. It was rather ironic though, considering he was the one that shot the hyena and caused the blood.

Miles read it aloud. "The Diamondback Casino."

Serena closed her briefcase, smiling smugly at the two tailed vulpine. "You're welcome."

Miles took out his phone and dialed Gareth's number. The squirrel was taking long to pick up.

"Don't bother calling him. You know he's probably buried nuts deep in some whores' snatch." Serena said, heaving her briefcase up and walking away.

It was until after the ninth ring that Gareth finally picked up. "Hey, Miles, what's up?" He sounded out of breath; so Serena was right.

"I think we just discovered Tarlini's hideout."

 **-X-X-X-**

Miles parked his car at a respectable distance from the casino. They were perfectly concealed by low hanging trees so no one could see them and tell what they were doing. He took out a pair of binoculars from the glove compartment and surveyed the premises.

"You know, despite being a criminal, I really must laud his architectural style." Gareth remarked as he appraised the casino.

Miles scoffed at him, still surveying. "What are you, a critic? We're here to bust the city's most notorious criminal, not to give his hideout five stars."

The Diamondback Casino was located on the edge of the downtown area, just close to the upper class suburbs. That way, the rich high rollers and ballers could have easy access to their gambling haven. Most of the casino's yard was grass and hedge cut to resemble different figures. There were beautiful fountains here and there.

Gareth reclined in the passenger seat. "You know, this place is highly exclusive so they can't just let any random person in. You got a 'rich man' disguise in the trunk?"

The fox put his binoculars aside. "We're not going in through the front door." He got out of the car.

Gareth followed suit. "Then how are we going to get in?"

Miles did not answer him, but walked the perimeter of the high metal fence surrounding the casino until they reached the back. Completely out of sight of the casino's staff and patrons. "You see that window there?" He pointed at it. "I bet you a thousand rings it leads directly into Tarlini's office."

Gareth stared at the window. "So how are we gonna get to it?"

"We just have to be stealthy," Miles began to climb the fence.

"He-Hey! Miles, you're gonna get yourself caught!" Gareth called out to the fox, who had already vaulted the top and landed softly on the other side.

"Not if we time our movements right." Miles replied. It was the reply that now sent the squirrel's heart racing.

"Wait. 'We?'" He held his arms up. "Oh no. I'll let you have this one all to yourself, Miles."

The fox's brows furrowed and he growled. "Gareth! Don't be a pussy!"

That was one of the things the squirrel hated being called. Miles always liked to pull that card whenever Gareth tried to back out of something difficult. He began to climb over the fence but his movements were clumsy and he almost got himself impaled on the fence's spikes. His landing was as graceful as a drunk on ice.

"Alright. Let's move." Miles led the way towards the casino. They had to constantly hide behind hedges and statues to avoid the security cameras.

At one point it looked clear to just run towards the window but they stopped when they noticed the camera placed nearby, aiming directly at their path.

Gareth picked up a small rock, took a careful aim and threw. It hit the camera just right and the red light that signified that the camera was on went off. The squirrel grinned smugly at Miles.

The fox said a quick "nice" and bolted for the window, which was a storey high. Gareth followed and stopped right next to him.

"Got any plans for climbing up there?"

"Just one." Miles replied. "And we're both not gonna like it."

Before the squirrel could ask what he meant by that, Miles scooped him up in his arms. He was completely shocked at the position he was put in but nothing prepared him for what happened next.

Miles spun his Tails around like helicopter blades and to Gareth's utter amazement, they took to the air!

He only felt it for a brief moment because they had already reached the window, which was thankfully left open. Miles flew in and deposited Gareth onto the floor like a carcass, before landing.

The squirrel scrambled to his feet, eyes wide. "How did you…?"

Miles pulled out his Glock. "Later."

Gareth was still trying to make sense of it all, but he could not let that distract him. He had to stay focused. He pulled out his own weapon and scanned their surroundings.

They were in the junction of a corridor. Which was very bad news. Someone could easily find them.

"Well, which way?" Gareth whispered.

"This way." Miles answered, heading through the shortest corridor.

Gareth followed. "How do you know?"

The fox rolled his eyes. Gareth was asking a lot of questions tonight. "Canine intuition."

There was a door at the end of the corridor. Miles kept his Glock trained on the door, in case Tarlini or someone else came out.

"Psst. Miles." The fox turned and saw that Gareth had stopped at a door to his left and had his ear pressed against it.

"What?" He hissed.

Gareth put his finger to his lips. "Shush. Listen."

Miles obliged and put his ear to the door.

"… what, so now we're stealing metal?" A voice asked.

"Yeah, apparently the boss said it's all part of an agreement between him and some other guy." Another answered.

"So why is he keeping us in the dark? I, for one, want to know why we're straying from our usual line of work to steal from a steel mill." A third put in.

"Wait, which one is it again?" A fourth asked. There was the sound of a slap.

"Get the wax outta your ears, Bucky. It's the one outta town, near Polworts." A fifth voice said gruffly.

"For 'efficient results', as the boss put it, we're gonna receive help from the other guys." The second voice said.

Then there was the sound of footsteps. Miles and Gareth quickly moved away from the door and hastened on towards the other at the end of the corridor. Miles tried the handle and the door clicked open.

In one swift move, they opened the door the rest of the way and pointed their weapons in the room, ready to fire if necessary. Which, of course wasn't necessary.

The room was empty.

There was a desk littered with papers and a glass ashtray with a few cigarette butts. The rest of the office was exquisitely furnished.

Gareth whistled. "Swanky."

Miles shut the door and quickly moved to the desk while Gareth guarded the door. He started going through the papers one by one. Some were drawn maps about the places his gangsters hit; others were about potential areas to hit. These he pocketed. Next, he searched the drawers. In one drawer, he found a crude drawing of a Tommy gun and another drawing that showed a two tailed fox shot in the head with that gun. The picture made Miles smile. "Keep dreaming, Tarlini."

The other drawers contained nothing of interest: Cooking recipes, magazines and posters of famous bands.

Miles vacated the desk. "OK, Gary, I believe we're done here. Let's go."

Gareth pulled the door open. At the worst possible moment.

The door he and Miles eavesdropped at earlier, opened and out stepped one of the suits.

He turned and quickly spotted Gareth. "Shit! It's the Bureau!" He quickly pulled out his weapon. Gareth, who had slackened on his own, swiftly shut the door. Bullets eventually started to pepper it.

"We're trapped!"

Miles looked around for an alternative way out. Outside, the gunfire increased in volume and the door started to splinter. Fortunately, it could withstand the barrage of gunfire. That had the expected effect on the casino. As soon as the crowd heard the gunfire, they became a panicky mob. They began to stampede out.

That gave Miles the perfect cover.

The fox turned to his partner, who was doing his best to keep the gangsters at bay: opening the door a crack just to slip his gun through and return fire.

"Gary, the window!"

The squirrel turned and ran to the window. It was large enough for Mobians of their size through. He managed to slip through with little effort. Miles followed suit and they both jumped the storey and landed on the soft grass outside.

Inside the office, the suits burst in to find an empty room. They quickly ran to the window.

Miles tugged his partner's arm and they ran from the spot, which was immediately assaulted by gunfire.

"Quick! Into the crowd. We'll blend in." They ran into the panicking crowd to make it difficult to spot them. Whilst everyone ran for their cars, Miles and Gareth ran straight for the fence. Almost there, Miles once again picked Gareth up and spun his Tails, his running momentum giving him enough lift to leap over the fence. Once landed, the fox set Gareth down and they ran from sight.

 **-X-X-X-**

Gareth threw the car door open and got in, panting like a dog in heat. Miles was equally spent as he slumped onto the driver's seat, his chest heaving up and down.

"Hey, Miles. Next time… give a warning… before you fly me… over a fence, OK?" The squirrel wiped his forehead with his hand. "You almost… gave me a heart attack."

Miles unbuttoned his shirt at the chest. "There ain't going… to be a… next time."

Gareth regained some of his breath. "You're right. I don't ever… want to have that much bodily contact… with a fellow dude."

Miles laughed. "We went mining for gold and struck silver. We didn't find Tarlini but we at least gained some vital information on his next targets." His face fell. "I'm just bummed we didn't record that conversation."

"Way ahead of you." Gary pulled out his phone and played a recording of the conversation.

Miles high-fived the squirrel. "Good job." He started the engine and put the Audi in reverse.

"Hey, Miles, you were also right about another thing." Gareth added.

"Which is?" the fox asked as he drove away.

Gareth smiled. "That you owe me a thousand rings."

Miles chuckled. "Keep dreaming, Gareth."

 **-X-X-X-**

Rings- Their currency

Well I really enjoyed writing this chapter, staying up to three AM just to finish it. Please read and review.

J.W.H. 10


	5. Chapter 5

He was happy. She was happy. They were both happy. A relationship that was going so strong, Miles thought it would last forever. And why would it not?

As the fifteen year old Miles gazed into the loving eyes of Fiona, his girlfriend of seven months, and she gazed right back, unspoken words of tender love were exchanged between them. He reached across and slowly caressed he cheek. She giggled and straddled him, running her hands over his hard, furry, chest, over his toned abs. He pulled her down and kissed her, releasing that unique feeling only he could manage to stir within her.

As she slowly pulled away, Miles whispered in her ear. "We will be together forever."

If only that were true.

Disaster struck.

Miles picked himself up from the ground, his clothes ripped and dirty, his body aching. He looked at the robot he had just destroyed and saw its eyes flicker. He gave it another lethal whack with the metal bar he was carrying and this time, its eyes stayed off.

He surveyed the scene of carnage that was once Knothole, now littered with various mangled robot parts and dead bodies, some still spilling fresh blood. An explosion that rocked the ground nearly shook the fox back down to the ground.

The last of Robotnik's battleships had been blown up, scattering dirt and shrapnel in all directions.

Then Miles saw him.

The evil doctor was detained by two soldiers who were leading him away. Miles wanted to attack him.

He wanted to kill him.

But Sally forbade it. She said that wouldn't be justice. He and Fiona had disagreed.

Wait a minute. Fiona. Where is she?

Miles looked around, calling her name over and over. He stopped whoever knew her and asked if they had seen her. No one had. Finally, he spotted Sally. She was covered in dirt and oil but otherwise fine. He ran to her.

"Sally, have you seen Fiona?"

The chipmunk looked up at him with sorrowful eyes. "Fiona… went away." Seeing the crushed look on Miles' face, she rephrased. "She left." that did nothing to alleviate the fox's pain. He sank to his knees.

"I'm so sorry, Tails." Sally moved in to pick him up and hug him. She could hear him sobbing and he was shaking violently with grief.

"I don't think you'll ever see her again."

Those words kept echoing in Miles' head.

"She went away."

"She left."

"I don't think you'll ever see her again."

"She went away."

"I don't think you'll ever see her again."

 **-X-X-X-**

Mile shot out of head, breathing hard like he had just run a marathon. His entire body was covered in a cold sweat. He checked his watch and saw that it was just after seven. He fell back onto the pillows and ran his hands through his hair.

He had had that nightmare again. The day he lost Fiona. The day that she left.

It was rather funny that he would have that nightmare on the same day he decides visit Sally.

The fox forced himself up and ran his hand through his hair. He looked at the watch and saw that it was just after seven. He groaned and fell back on the pillows, trying to go back to sleep. But every time he had that nightmare, sleep was instantly gone from him, like water in a desert.

"Fuck it." He said to himself as he threw the blankets off him and headed for the bathroom.

A shower helped to relax him a bit. The needle-like feeling of the water on his skin felt like acupuncture needles, slowly forcing his tension away. Miles stepped out and dried his fur with a towel. Sighing in content, he continued on with his morning routine.

Miles simultaneously ate his breakfast of pancakes with syrup whilst texting Sonic and Gary. Sonic only wanted the fox's confirmation that he would indeed visit Sally; he texted back a "yes." Gareth's texts were mostly about last night's events, specifically Tails' bizarre revelation about his namesakes. Tails just sent him an "I'll explain later."

He felt a little bad at himself for keeping Gareth in the dark about his ability for so long. Apart from Sonic, he was the next best friend that he had, their friendship starting as far as when they were in high school. They had met under rather deviating circumstances and instantly became close. But not _that_ close.

Miles finished his breakfast and left the dishes in the sink; he would wash them when he got back. He grabbed his car keys and left the apartment.

 **-X-X-X-**

Miles could not remember much about the last day he came to the Royal Palace. In fact, the last time he was here was three years ago when he had returned to the city following a break from college. His previous exchange with Sally wasn't friendly then and he doubted it would be friendly now.

The guard at the gate, a man who looked like he should be considering retirement, instantly exited the gatehouse and stopped him. "Hold on there, boy. People can't just be driving up to the Royal Palace as they please. Do you know who lives here?"

Miles just gave the guard a dry look. "Didn't Her Majesty tell you I was stopping by for a visit?"

The guard gave Miles an inquisitive look and leaned in to get a better look at him. That was when he noticed the two tails. "Oh! Mr. Prower! I- I almost did not recognize you." He blubbered.

The two tailed fox wanted to roll his eyes but that would have been disrespectful. And this was a man he most certainly respected. "Nice to see you, Roland."

Roland Reinhardt was the gatekeeper of the Royal Palace, a job that he held long since Sally's parents were rulers of The Acorn Kingdom. After Robotnik took over, the man absconded to some remote hiding place until Sally got the throne back and reinstated him. He and Miles often had a few run-ins when the fox was just a kit.

"I- I'll let you in now." Roland returned to the gatehouse and fumbled with the controls for a bit.

There was a slight creak as the large metal gates opened by themselves. Miles pulled his car in and stopped. He turned back to Roland. "Hey, Roland. Do yourself a favor."

"And what would that be, Mr. Prower?"

"Retire." Miles said and continued on towards the Palace.

He drove towards the Palace's large parking lot which was filled with the various cars and limos of Queen Sally's motorcade. Finding a spot was easy.

As soon as he got out, the Palace Steward, a Mobian cat, walked up to him. "Mr. Prower." He said after noticing the two swishing tails. "So nice to see you again after three years. How have you been.?"

"I've been busy. You know, with work and everything." Miles replied as he was led into the Palace through the West Door. "And please, call me 'Tails'. Or 'Miles'."

The interior of the Palace had undergone a lot of change since the last time he was there. However, he could still remember the various rooms and hallways he had been in when he used to run wild here. His mother used to bring him when he was a young kit. It was easy, since she was one of the most powerful Councilwomen in the Acorn Council. This was where he had first met Sonic and Sally.

It was also where he had first met Fiona.

"So, where is Sonic, anyway?" Miles asked the Steward as they headed towards Sally's office. "I thought he would be the one escorting me in."

"Sonic is interviewing some new guards. Being the Palace's head of security and all that." The Steward replied as he escorted Miles through a hall which had its walls adorned with portraits of The Kingdom of Acorn's previous sovereigns.

 _Why not put Robotnik's face?_ Miles joked in his head and instantly felt disgusted with himself. Jokes about that man were not funny.

The fox turned to the Steward. "You know what, how about I head to her office on my own. I know the way there."

The Steward nodded. "Of course you do." He went off in a different direction.

Miles could see Sally's office at the end of the hall, with two Mobian guards guarding it. As he got closer, he could hear the Queen talking to someone. The closer he got, the more clearly he could understand her.

"… yes, I will be there on Tuesday. No, not Monday, I'll be somewhere else. Hey, this Kingdom is not going to rule itself. Listen I have a lot of work to do…"

She sounded out of breath as if she was running out of oxygen. Miles and Sonic had often told her to take it easy, not to wear herself down but that advice appeared to just go over her head. It was as if she bore the weight of the Kingdom's problems on her shoulders like a slave and not like a Queen.

The fox opened the doors to Sally's office. The guards did not bother to stop him; they knew who he was. He saw Sally on the phone, pacing around. On her desk, various documents and letters were scattered, waiting for her attention. Once Sally looked up to see whom it was who was disturbing her, her annoyed look gave way to one of gladness.

"Tails."

She moved around the desk and approached him, dressed in her royal robes. _She looks like her mother_ Miles thought. The Queen enveloped him in a hug that brought back all those fond memories of back when they were at Knothole. Miles did his best to return the hug.

"Your Majesty." He spoke as if he was forcing the words out. Sally did not appear to notice, however.

She laughed. "Oh, come on, Tails, you know you can call me, Sally. It's been a long time since I last saw you."

"Three years, to be exact." Miles looked behind her, at the desk overflowing with pares. "I see you have a lot of work on your hands. Is it OK if I come some other time? When I can actually see the top of the desk?"

The Queen merely shrugged. "Oh, that? Nah, I can take care of it later." She held the fox by his shoulders. "Right now my focus is on you."

 _Oh, the irony_ Miles thought.

Sally tugged at his arm. "Come on. Let's go outside. It's a bit stuffy in here."

 **-X-X-X-**

Miles and Sally casually strolled through the Palace Gardens. Beautiful flowers full of color gave the Gardens a beautiful rainbow setting. Sally was always one to appreciate the beauty of nature.

"So, Sonic is now your Head of Security." It was a statement and not a question.

Sally plucked a rose from its bush. "Yeah. It looked like the only post that would suit him at the time."

Miles nodded his head slowly. "Uh huh. But you and I both know we expected something else."

The Queen sighed. "Tails, I have other responsibilities right now. I could not be a Queen and a boyfriend at the same time."

Miles rolled his eyes. "Your father managed it. He was still able to rule his Kingdom while raising two children. And you don't have those to worry about." He paused, observing her reaction. She just looked at him, then at the rose. "He had balance. Control. That's something you are lacking, Sally. You rule this Kingdom like it's a burden and not your birthright."

"Well technically, it was Elias' birthright. You and both know I wasn't supposed to be ruler in the first place." Sally plucked the petals off the rose with a sad expression on her face.

The two tailed fox stared at her, his features going soft. "You miss him, don't you?"

Sally nodded. A tear started to trickle down her cheek. "I miss them all."

Miles reached up to wipe it off. "I miss my parents too. Not a day goes by without thinking about them." His expression hardened again. "But what does not sit well with me is that their murderer still lives. And you're the one who gave that decision."

The chipmunk turned to him with a confounded look. "Tails, that would not be just. You know Robotnik did not really kill your parents."

"He gave the order." Miles looked disgusted with her. "How could you even defend him? The man killed both our parents. He deserves to be six feet under, not slowly rotting away in some prison cell."

Sally picked another rose and gazed at it, as if she will find all her answers in it. "You killed the man who pulled the trigger. I let you get away with that. I thought you would be satisfied."

Miles bared his fangs, a gesture which usually meant malice. This time it showed contempt. "I killed a pawn, when in reality; I should have gone for the king. Then I would have been satisfied." He walked up to her. "You may be a good Queen, Sally. But you make bad decisions."

Sally looked hurt. "If this is about Fiona, then how many times must I say I'm sorry?"

"She saved your life!" Miles screamed. "Is that how you repay people who save your life? By banishing them?" He calmed himself down. "Sorry does not bring her back." He whispered.

Sally held Tails' shoulder; he did not push her hand away. "Look, Tails, I admit what I did was wrong. Not a single day goes by that I don't regret my decision. When I became Queen, I devoted most of my time and resources in trying to find her. But I've been unsuccessful. It's like she just disappeared." She paused. "Or left the country."

Miles sighed, looking at the ground. He wanted to hold this against Sally for as long as she lived. Who wouldn't? Thanks to her, the love of his life was gone, probably never to be seen again. That qualified to put her at top spot on his "most hated people" index. But he did not hate her. A part of him still loved her, still cared for her. She practically raised him from infancy after his parents' death and she was like a mother to him.

But like all people, she made mistakes. And to him, these mistakes were branded unforgivable.

Miles slowly removed her hand from his shoulder. "It was nice seeing you again, Sally." He turned around and walked away.

Sally just stood there, watching him go. She sighed to herself. A part of her still tried to convince herself that what Fiona did was wrong. _She should not have killed those men_ she thought. But if killing them meant saving her life, then why did she banish her? Was it because she believed in redemption, that those men that died had a shot at mending their ways? Or was it because of her indignant feelings towards the fox? She shook her head, trying to banish those thoughts from her head. What was done was done. Now it was time to move on.

Even though Tails himself had not.

 **-X-X-X-**

"Hey, what's the matter? You don't look as lively as usual."Gareth asked his partner. They were just coming from shopping for groceries at the shop in the downtown area of the city. Whilst the squirrel hated doing such maidenly tasks due to his overflowing machismo, he just had no choice. Sometimes being single sucked.

Miles drove in silence, a pensive look on his face. "Nothing. It's just… I had to reopen some old wounds. And rub salt into them." He replied.

"What about?" Gareth asked, his curiousity rising. Despite having known each other for six years and being closer than brothers in that time, Miles had yet to share most about his life to Gareth. Then again, he did try but the squirrel just dismissed him as being drunk.

"It's… nothing. I don't want to talk about it." Miles tried to shrug it off. It was a subject he did not like to dwell on too much. It brought a lot of bad memories.

"Oh, come on, Miles." The squirrel pleaded. "Why do you have to be so secretive? I never hide anything about me from you. Why should you?"

Miles sighed. He felt a pang of guilt at not telling his friend a lot about his life. "Alright. Remember when I told you that Cream was my first girlfriend?"

Gareth nodded.

"I lied." The fox confessed. "Truth is, there was someone else involved before her."

Gareth sat up straighter, ears perked up. "Really? Who?"

"Fiona Fox." Miles whispered. "She was the girl I truly fell in love with. And the only one, for that matter." After a pause, he added. "She was also the first girl I… you know."

A huge grin broke onto the squirrel's face. He broke into laughter. "So you fucked her? And I thought Cream was your first."

Miles smiled a little. "Well, she wasn't. Fiona was my first."

Gareth calmed down from his hysterics. All questions in his head of sex aside, he asked. "So, what happened? Did you break up?"

The two tailed vulpine shook his head. "No. She… left. Under… controversial circumstances."

Gareth raised his eyebrow, silently telling Miles to be more specific.

He got the hint. "She was chased away by her 'superior'." He spat the word, like a bitter pill. "I just went to visit her this morning and we talked about it. She keeps saying she's sorry but I just can't forgive her for it." He finished with a dejected sigh.

"Hold on there." Gareth raised his hands. "The superior of what exactly?"

"Our superior at the Freedom Fighters." Miles stated.

At that moment, Gareth's face fell. "Oh, come on, dude. Not your Freedom Fighter vigilante nonsense again."

Miles rolled his eyes. He knew Gareth would not believe him. Yet another reason he did not want to tell him that.

They had finally reached their destination: Gareth's apartment. It was a few blocks away from Miles' and was not as resplendent but it still had that homily charm. Miles parked his car and got out. He opened the backseat and took out his groceries.

Gareth followed suit. "You know, I bet there isn't even a 'Fiona Fox'. I think she's just some make-believe girl you made up in trying to deny that Cream was the first pussy you fucked."

Miles just stayed quiet until they reached Gareth's door. He waited for him to unlock it. "So, you don't believe me?"

The squirrel finally opened the door. "I did believe you; until you mentioned your 'Freedom Fighters'. You make it sound like you were with the Avengers or something."

Miles followed him in, observing the state of the apartment. It was mostly clean; as clean as a bachelor pad can get. There were different articles of clothing on the chairs, newspapers on the floor and a pizza box on the table; Miles did not even want to know how long that had been sitting there.

He followed Gareth into the kitchen. The sink was filled with unwashed dishes."You know, Gary, you should really get some hired help in here. This place looks like it's occupied by a twelve year old."

Gareth was removing the groceries from their bags. "Who are you, my mommy? Just grab a drink and go wait in the living room."

Miles shook his head at that. It meant Gareth was going to cook. And he was a terrible cook. "You know what, why don't you let me do it? After all, I am better at it than you."

Gareth frowned at the jibe but that meant less work for him. "Fine. But hey, at least my cooking makes more sense than your tall 'Freedom Fighter' tales."

"Oh, they _are_ real." The fox insisted. "We just operated in a way that made it seem like we did not exist."

 **-X-X-X-**

Fiona lay on her bed, a picture of Tails in her hand. She stared longingly at it, a tear rolling down her cheek. This was the first boy who truly loved her, cared for her, meant the world to her.

And he was taken away from her by that ungrateful, royal bitch.

The very thought of Princess… no wait, _Queen_ Sally made her want to vomit in disgust. She often asked herself why she even bothered saving her life. All she got was banishment. The rage she felt for the royal chipmunk was the only justifiable reason she had for doing what she was doing.

A knock at her heavy door shook her out of her thoughts. She was surprised who it could be. _Nobody ever knocked around here_ she thought.

The vixen put the picture under her pillow, then went to the door and opened it. There stood Barry, Scourge's little mouse nerd.

"What do you want?" She demanded harshly.

Barry answered in a shaky voice. "Y- Your- your suit is ready."

Fiona smirked. "It's about time." She shoved the mouse out of her way.

 **-X-X-X-**

A/N: I had intended to update this three days ago but I have been distracted with Arrow, Flash and Marvel. Anyways' please read and review

J.W.H. 10


	6. Chapter 6

Tarlini sat at the chair in his office, a surprisingly calm expression on his face. A cigar burned at the corner of his mouth. His phone was in his hands and he was busy staring at the screen, occasionally tapping and swiping on it.

The group of gangsters, who were guarding the door to his office the previous night, stood at the other end of the table, looks of fear on their faces. They felt as if they were in court, waiting for the jury to deliver their verdict. As they watched their boss type and swipe away on his phone, they knew he was just stalling on purpose. That was always his habit; it either made them relax or made their fear grow some more. Some of them were even wishing he would not put his phone down.

Eventually he did and he stood up, still showing that same deathly calm expression. He walked around the desk and leaned on it, his hands grasping the edge. "So tell me, gentlemen. What is it that happened last night?"

They hated it when he did that. It was his way of making them trap themselves. A brown raccoon spoke up. "We were guarding the door and—"

"Wait. Let me stop you there." Reggio interrupted. "You were _not_ guarding the door. Continue."

"We were… we were _not_ guarding the d- d- door…" All the raccoon's sense of eloquence had vanished. He could not utter a complete sentence.

Another one of the group, a human, took over the explanation. "And Miles came in."

"'Miles came in.'" The mob boss repeated. He went behind his desk. "And what did he find, hmm? What did he take?"

Now the man had lost his voice. "A- a copy o- of the places we- we are going to- to- rob in the future."

"Aha. A copy of prospective places to rob. Which means he and B.R.U.T.E. Force will be on to us the next time we try to pull off a heist. They will be one, no scratch that, they will be TEN steps ahead of us." Tarlini laughed. The laugh was just as humorless as a Goth. "Congratulations. You may have just put us out of business."

One of them tried to speak. "Boss…"

"Do not give me that 'boss' shit!" Tarlini screamed. They all flinched at his sudden burst of anger. He flopped down on his chair and sighed. "You guys make me look bad."

Bucky started to talk."Boss, we can still make it work."

Tarlini only huffed as he stood up. "You know, we are like a teenage girl's face." He noticed their faces changed from fear to that of confusion. He smiled as he continued. "A teenage girl always likes to keep her face flawless. But when, say, a blemish appears, she does whatever she can to get rid of that blemish." He turned to the group. "You want to know why she's getting rid of that blemish?" They all stayed silent.

"Coz it's making her look bad." The mob boss pulled out his Desert Eagle.

They all gulped.

"And you guys are the blemishes making me look bad. Hence I must be rid of you." He pointed the gun straight at the raccoon's head. The Mobian gritted his teeth and shut his eyes.

There was a bang. That is, the door banged as it was pushed open and another mobster came rushing in. "Sorry to disturb you, boss. But Scourge is here."

"What?" Reggio was surprised. As far as he knew, Scourge rarely left the confines of his hidden lair, yet he came to see him? Here at the casino? Whatever for?

"Alright, send him in." He ordered. The gangster disappeared into the corridor. Tarlini now turned to the group, who were squirming and sweating, like kids waiting to get a shot. "Do not disappoint me again. Now get the fuck out!"

They all scurried out, releasing breaths they did not even know they were holding.

A moment later, the door swung open and the green hedgehog himself came in. "Mr. Tarlini." He greeted.

"What is it?" Reggio asked not so nicely.

Scourge plopped himself down on a chair without being asked to. "I just wanted to remind you of our operation tomorrow."

Tarlini grunted in response. Who would forget that? He went to a cabinet -which was left untouched—and took out a decanter full of whiskey and two glasses. He filled the glasses and handed one to Scourge. "Yes, I'm well aware of that."

The hedgehog sipped his drink. "Then I hope you do not mind if I borrow some of your men. There is going to be a lot of heavy lifting so I'll need a lot of hands."

Tarlini went to the other side of the desk and sat down. "Tell me, Scourge. What inspired you to come up with such a newfangled plan as this?"

Scourge laughed. "I just thought the country needed a stronger leader. Someone who can truly lead it to new heights."

"Our Queen is not strong enough?" Tarlini asked.

"Your Queen is weak." Scourge suddenly grew serious. "Her ancestors have done nothing to protect this Kingdom but just cower and run into hiding while people like Robotnick overthrow them. The Kingdom needs someone strong. Someone who can't waver in his decisions. And most of all: someone who can spawn a new and able generation that will last for years to come."

"In short: you." The mob boss stated dryly. Looking at it from Scourge's perspective, it did really seem like the Acorn bloodline was at fault for The Robotnick Coup. But then again, Scourge was a criminal so how could he possibly lead the country to "new heights?"

Scourge nodded. "Indeed. Now let's talk about less political matters. Like why your door is riddled with bullet holes?"

Reggio growled. "It was that Miles Prower again. He broke into my office and stole a copy of a map of all warehouses we can rob."

The green hedgehog merely polished off his drink and poured himself another. "Let me ask you something."

Tarlini nodded. "Go ahead."

"Do you fear Miles Prower?"

"What?" The mob boss sputtered. "No! It's just… he's so good at figuring me out, it's like he's already in my head, reading my thoughts, anticipating my movements."

The hedgehog scoffed and rolled his eyes. "OK, first of all, you've let this 'Miles Prower' guy get into your head so deep, it's almost like a sickness." He took a sip. "And secondly, those warehouses are insignificant."

"What?!" Tarlini looked like he had just been insulted. "The weapons we steal and sell come from those warehouses. They are the backbone of my business. And Miles Prower just ended it!"

Scourge burst out laughing. "You misunderstand, Mr. Tarlini. With what I have planned, you won't need such flimsy weapons."

The mob boss raised his eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

The hedgehog continued. "You lament the loss of the weak yet you have the chance to get something strong." He saw Tarlini's confused face and continued. "Project Cerberus does not really need small weapons. We'll need bigger weapons. Much, much bigger. Which pack an even greater punch than a little hole in the head." He finished his whiskey and stood up. "I have called a meeting with the others. It starts in an hour. Be at Hollow Hill by then." He headed for the door.

"Why can't you just tell me now?" Tarlini asked, flustered.

Scourge turned around. "Because I don't like repeating myself."

 **-X-X-X-**

Tarlini and Tony once again found themselves facing the rock face right before it once again split and opened. This time, there was no coyote standing at the entrance. And they also had no driver with them this time; Tony was driving while the mob boss sat at the back as usual. They entered the base and were once again enveloped in darkness until Tony switched on the headlights, found a spot and parked the Mercedes. They got out and headed through the same corridor as before.

When they entered the lab, they found that apart from the similar attendees of the previous meeting, there were a few more who joined the party. There was a large Mobian gorilla who wore a military suit but without the epaulettes and other features depicting rank. Next to him, there was a slim but smug looking lynx with pointy ears and an arrogant look in his eye. Snide, the coyote from before, sat at his front and Fiona, the vixen, sat in front of the gorilla.

There was also a large polar bear and a green duck that looked like he was high on caffeine. They sat next to Nack.

Scourge, as usual, stood at the front by the large monitor. "How nice of Mr. Tarlini to finally join us." He began his usual pacing with his hands grasped behind his back. "Now, on to business but first, let me introduce the rest of my team. Most of you have already met Fiona." The vixen stood up and turned to them with a neutral face. Other than a wolf whistle and a wiggle of the eyebrows from Nack, they all simply nodded.

"Right there beside her is Snide." The coyote stood up and turned to everyone with a smirk on his face before taking his seat.

"Behind him there is Lightning." The lynx stood up and put on a smug look for everyone to see. They just ignored him.

"And finally, beside him is Sergeant Simian." The gorilla stood up and grunted. Tarlini was finding it hard to believe that he was actually a criminal. Hell, he still looked like he was still in the Army, he may as well have been a spy. Tarlini of course dismissed those thoughts.

Needless to say, Scourge's team looked more than capable. It had a near perfect balance to it. A leader, the brains, the muscle and… whatever Lightning could be classified as.

"And over there is Nack's team." Scourge concluded by pointing in the direction where the weasel sat with his two cohorts.

They both stood up. "I'm Bark." The polar bear introduced himself.

"And I'm Bean." The duck said in a rather boyish voice. The others were failing to take him seriously.

Scourge spoke up. "Remember these faces, gentlemen, for you shall all be working together." He once again stood at the monitor. "Now, for Project Cerberus to begin, we will first need the necessary raw materials. For starters: metal. We'll need that to build the battleships. As I had already told some of you, the steel factory at Polworts is one of the largest steel producing factories in the country."

Everyone was listening intently as Scourge laid out the plan. An image showing the blueprints of the Polworts steel factory materialized on the monitor. "According to the blueprints, the storage room for the steel is located right here, at the south side of the factory." A circle appeared at the bottom end of the blueprints.

He turned to the group. "Any questions?"

"Yeah." Kukku XV stood up. "What will be the Battle Bird Armada's part in all this?"

Scourge replied. "You and Tarlini's men will mostly secure the perimeter and keep any unwanted people who get too close."

The Battle Bird leader nodded, content with his team's role. Tarlini, on the other hand, was not.

"Hold on now. Stealing is what my guys are good at." He said.

Scourge pondered for a moment. "Very well. You will bring three of your best thieves along. The rest are to set up the perimeter."

Tarlini appeared satisfied with that. He wanted his group to play a larger role in this, to outshine the others.

"So, are there any other questions." Scourge turned back to the others. Their silence answered him. "Good. Now, I expect all of you to be here tomorrow before six." He walked towards a door on the other side of the room and disappeared through it."

"I suppose we must convey the news to our respective groups." Sato spoke for the first time. He had been silent throughout the entire proceedings, no one even knew he was there. The very sound of his voice nearly made Tarlini and Kukku XV jump, considering he was standing behind them.

"Good Lord, man!" The Battle Bird leader exclaimed, clutching his chest. "You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"Were you standing there the whole time." Tony asked, wide eyed.

Sato merely huffed. "There is a reason we are called the Silent Shadows." He walked out the room without another word.

"Creepy." Tony shuddered.

 **-X-X-X-**

They did not return to the casino. Instead they went to their secondary hideout at a nightclub. After the casino was compromised, Tony had put the word out to all the other gangsters that they were relocating to the Bouncy Boob Nightclub, one of the many nightclubs around the city that Tarlini had wrapped around his finger.

Once they got out, Tarlini turned to his subordinate. "Get me the finest criminals we've got. They will be the ones going on that mission tomorrow. I don't want any fuckups, you hear?"

Tony nodded. "Sure, boss. Right away."

They entered the nightclub through the back and went straight to the backroom, where nobody but his contingent was allowed. Some of the gangsters were already getting themselves comfortable: drinking, getting a lap dance or more than that [;-)].

Tarlini went straight to his office and waited.

 **-X-X-X-**

"Alright, boss. I got them." Tony opened the door enough to pop his head in and make the announcement.

Tarlini stepped out and casually scrutinized them.

A line of handpicked men and Mobians of Tarlini's mob stood in a row. According to Tony, they were the only eligible ones best suited for the job that Scourge wanted them to perform come the following day. Of course Tarlini only wanted ten individuals; presented before him were twenty.

"Hmm… let's see…" He pondered, rubbing his chin whilst pacing back and forth across the group. He stopped by a certain black cat. "Him."

Keith smiled and stepped forward.

He resumed his pacing and inspecting. "Him… him… him… hmm… I'm skeptical but him as well… oh, definitely him… him… oh, let's not forget him… him… him and him.

He had his ten: Keith along with four other Mobians and six humans. The other ten who were not chosen, grumpily walked away.

Tony appraised his boss' choice. "Excellent pick, boss. I am sure Scourge will not be disappointed."

Tarlini turned to his aide. "You're going with them too."

"What?!" Tony exclaimed. He had hoped to sit this one out, maybe invite a hooker and get all "friendly" with her.

"Did I mumble?" retorted Tarlini.

Tony knew better than to back talk to a decision made by Reggio Tarlini. "No, boss, not at all. Of course I will accompany them."

"Good." Tarlini then turned to his picked group. "Gentlemen, tomorrow, Tony will accompany you to Hollow Hill, where you will receive instructions for a particular operation. Not for me exactly, but for Scourge. It is all part of our mutual agreement with him. Now I have handpicked each one of you because I have faith in you. I know you are not going to screw up come tomorrow. And I will not expect any one of you to betray that faith. Understand?"

They all nodded.

"Good." The mob boss went back into his office and shut the door behind him. As he sat at his desk and took out his phone, he could not help but think to himself. If he was working with these different people, then maybe that might give him an advantage over Miles Prower. There was no way Miles would suspect a team up of all those vicious criminals.

Based on previous encounters, Tarlini made the assumptions: Miles would somehow figure out that they will be going to the Polworts steel factory, he runs in, expecting Tony and his crew, only to find that there are also the other groups, Miles gets confused, he lets his guard down and…

A sinister smile played on Tarlini's face. There was no way Miles could take on all those criminal groups at the same time, no matter how good he was. In his thoughts, he was like:

 _Tomorrow might just be the end of Miles Prower._

 **-X-X-X-**

A/N: A bit short for my liking. Anyway, please read and review.

J.W.H. 10


	7. Chapter 7

There was a knock and the door opened a crack. Miles poked his head in. "You wanted to see me, sir?"

Director Jeremiah Gallard looked up from the monitor he was reading. "Yes. Come in, Miles. "

Director Gallard, a man in his late forties, had served in the Acorn Military during the fight against Robotnick. After he was honorably discharged, he became the director of B.R.U.T.E. Force. Gallard pointed him to a chair in front of his desk. "Sit down."

Miles did so and Gallard returned to reading what was on his monitor. "So, according to your report of last week's mission, five agents were killed and four others were injured. Am I correct?"

Miles nodded. "Yes, Sir."

The Director continued. "And you were only able to stop one of the two trucks that were carrying the stolen weapons, right?"

"Yes, Sir." Miles droned, getting bored. Why couldn't the man get straight to the point?

Gallard looked at his screen once more. "And what of the crooks who were in that truck?"

"Dead. I killed them." Miles answered bluntly.

Gallard slowly exhaled. "That was very rash thinking, Prower."

"I know." Miles answered nonchalantly.

Gallard slowly stood up. "Listen to me, Prower. We have been after Tarlini for almost three years now and we are no closer to finding him than before. And those two criminals you shot could have given us valuable information."

The fox rolled his eyes. "If they were willing to speak. You and I both know that people who deal with Tarlini are never all that eager to just spill information. So what makes you think that they would have been any different?"

Gallard remained silent, only giving Miles a death glare.

The twin tailed fox continued. "Besides, Serena saved us the trouble with what she found."

"Right. The clue that led you to the Diamondback Casino, where you claim to have eavesdropped on Tarlini's men talking about a potential hit." Gallard's tone sounded almost mocking.

"Yeah." Miles answered, dropping all forms of formality to his superior. He would have been given a stern reminder but he did not care. He would not have listened, anyway.

"And you say they are planning to steal from –and correct me if I'm wrong- a steel factory." Now Gallard was really mocking him.

Miles resisted the urge to growl. "Yes. I overheard them say that they are going to steal metal from the steel factory in Polworts." He could not blame Gallard for being skeptical. The man obviously thought Tarlini was predictable in his actions but the fox knew otherwise.

The Director scoffed. "Hardly Tarlini's nature." He never really took the mob boss as one to try anything new. Stealing guns was his only primary business. It was what made him the most powerful criminal in all of Mobotropolis.

 _God, this man is exasperating,_ Miles thought. "Let me finish. That is because it was not Tarlini who gave them this task, but someone else."

"Come again?" Gallard asked, his curiosity now aroused.

The fox was tempted to retort "did I stutter?" but instead chose to comply. "I said Tarlini is being asked, if not, forced into stealing from that factory."

"By who?" Gallard continued to pick Miles' brains. If he had been starved of excitement throughout his life, he would be getting goosebumps.

"I intend to find out tonight." Miles stood up. "I'll keep you posted." He went out the door and shut it.

Gallard fell back in his chair. _Goddamn, that fox is too arrogant,_ he thought. But at least he could back up his arrogance with a job well done… well, sort of. Ever since Miles became an agent at the Bureau of Recon and Undercover Tactical Espionage Force, he had often proved himself to be way above the average expectations of any greenhorn agent. Every case he was given, he solved more quickly than any of the more seasoned agents.

Eventually, Gallard saw fit to give him the Tarlini case, a decision he has never regretted. Despite the fox encountering several obstacles and challenges along the way, Gallard still had faith in him.

 **-X-X-X-**

"What do you mean he is going to rob a steel factory?" Chandler asked in a sneering manner.

"That is what I heard Tarlini's men say." Miles growled, exasperated with the man.

Miles, Gareth and a group of agents had gathered in an empty office to discuss plans on how to successfully stop the impending heist that was to take place that night. And as usual, Sebastian Chandler was being a contradictive blockhead.

"Pfft, there is no way he would go rob a steel factory." Chandler said contemptuously. "We all know Tarlini's targets are weapons. Why the sudden change of face?"

Miles was getting irritated with this guy's foolishness. "Never mind that. Right now, our focus should be on the Polworts Steel Factory coz that's where Tarlini, or whoever is in charge, is going to hit next."

"I'm not going there." Chandler bluntly stated.

"Excuse me?" Miles walked right up to Chandlers face; which looked rather odd since the human was over a foot taller than him. "I am the agent in charge of this case and if you don't want to follow my lead, then stay the hell out of it."

Sebastian merely smirked. "You know, just because you're in charge, does not mean you're always right." He walked away from Miles and strutted towards the other gathered agents. "For example: have you guys probably considered that this mention of robbing a steel factory might have just been a decoy to lead us away from their main objective?"

Some of the agents murmured in agreement.

Miles rolled his eyes. "Right now, your brain is a decoy." The other agents laughed at the snide remark.

Chandler snarled but calmed himself. "Alright, Prower, there is only one way this is going to work. Half of us will stakeout one of the warehouses here while you go and check out the steel factory. Sounds good."

Miles' jaw was twitching, a clear sign that he was annoyed beyond all reason. But he was not going to let his disdain for this man quash his rational thinking. "That's not your call to make, Sebastian."

To the fox's surprise, some of the agents were actually siding with Sebastian. Although they tried to keep their voices down, Miles could still hear whispers of "Sebastian is right" thanks to his heightened fox hearing.

One agent however, was more vocal. "Chandler's right. We're with him on this one."

"But it's not his call." Gareth countered aggressively.

Miles placed his hand on the squirrel's shoulder. Sometimes, arguments with Gary often escalated to violence. "Leave him, Gary. If Sebastian will not listen to veracity, then leave him be." The fox headed for the door, with Gareth not far behind. He turned to the other agents. "Anyone else wanna stay?"

Four agents, a Mobian mouse, a Mobian lion and two humans stood up and followed the duo out the door. They were the ones who never second guessed Miles' decisions, mostly because he was always right. Well, almost.

Chandler scoffed and turned to the others. "Right. Back to business. My sources tell me that the warehouse in the Green District has just received a new shipment of weapons. That is where Tarlini's men will _actually_ be heading to…"

 **-X-X-X-**

Miles sat in the back of the van with the other agents, anxiously waiting for Tarlini's men to make a move on the steel factory. So far, all was quiet.

Polworts was a small industrial town, a few kilometers from Mobotropolis. The factory was located in a densely woody area, surrounded by plenty of trees, so finding a place to conceal the van was not that difficult.

"Any sign of them?" The two tailed fox asked the lion, who was surveying the area with some night vision binoculars.

"Negative." The lion, who was named Dennis, replied.

Miles sighed and sat back in his seat. A sense of doubt crept up within him but he quickly stamped it out. He knew Tony and company were coming. Now, the other question was this: who was the other company?

They would just have to wait and find out.

"Well, this is boring." Gareth groaned. "Shouldn't they have been here by now?"

"Robberies do not have a specific time, Gary." Miles retorted. "For all I know, we could be waiting here until three in the morning."

"Oh, that really brightens my vigilance." The squirrel remarked sarcastically.

Miles just rolled his ocean blue eyes.

They waited for about half an hour. One of the other agents checked his watch. It was nearing eleven thirty pm.

"What if Chandler was right?" The mouse, who was named Roger, asked out of nowhere. He cringed when Miles turned his withering glare towards him.

"If you think that then feel free to walk back to Mobotropolis and sit on your hands all night with Chandler, expecting nothing but maggot water*." The fox growled at him.

Roger put his hands up in defense. "Hey, what I meant to say was… maybe they postponed?"

Miles scoffed in disgust. _Fuck Chandler_ he thought. Why did he let that slimy weasel take over half his team, only to have them waiting in vain for something that was not going to happen? Then again, Miles blamed himself for letting Chandler go. As the agent in charge, he should have been more assertive and not have let him decide. But Chandler had a way of making others believe what he said. Even if it was just a load of horseshit.

Fifteen minutes later and still no sign of Tarlini's goons. Impatience began to settle amongst the agents. Roger began loading and unloading the magazine of his H&K MP45 repeatedly, a blank expression on his face. The constant clicking soon became annoying.

Dennis turned to him. "Stop that." And returned to scanning the factory.

Gareth took out his phone. "Well, if we're going to be waiting for who knows how long, might as well kill time." He was soon engrossed in a game of Vector.

Ten minutes later, his battery was dead. He resorted to his alternative: "Anyone know any good stakeout games?"

The other agents just groaned in exasperation.

The armored van was once again filled with silence. Dennis got tired of being the lookout and asked one of the others to take his place. Flynn, a human agent, obliged him.

Gary turned to Rogers. "So, Rog… how is your sister?"

The mouse's lips curled up. "She said if she ever sees you again, she'll kill you." He later on added. "She even offered me a thousand rings to do it myself."

As per Gareth's nature, he dated women solely for the hole in between their legs. Roger's sister was one of them who fell into the squirrel's trap.

The other human, who was named Jake, turned to Miles. "Hey, Prower, if what you were saying is true, that Tarlini had joined forces with some other gang members, won't we be outnumbered by… I don't know, ten to one?"

That was another thing Miles was thinking about. With a small squad and the probability of facing maybe fifty men, was the mission going to actually be successful? Or would they be outgunned and overwhelmed in a matter of seconds.

"We are just gonna have to improvise." The twin tailed fox replied.

"And how are we going to do that?" Jake persisted.

Miles smirked. "Leave that to me."

 **-X-X-X-**

Fiona entered the lab, dressed in her new suit that Barry made for her. It was a skintight one piece that hugged every curve of her body. It was black, with shades of grey from the hands to the wrists and from the feet to the shins. There were also some grey spots in the elbows and knees.

She saw that the chosen people for the mission were gathered around a table. The moment she entered, all eyes -specifically the Mobians' turned towards her.

She just ignored them. Sometimes, it was hard being the only female of the group. All she got were belittling and chauvinistic glances and the not very subtle glances at her bodily assets.

Nack wolf whistled. "Well, well. If I knews we's were dressing up for the occasion, I would have worn something stylish myself."

"Then let us hope you did not forget your big boy pants." The vixen purred.

The weasel's grin got only wider. When Fiona walked past him, he amused himself by giving her butt a good smack.

In the blink of an eye, she turned on him and kicked his legs out from under him. As the weasel fell, she grabbed the knife strapped to his belt and pressed her knee onto his throat. She had a playful smirk on her face.

"You're a bold one. But that was pretty stupid." Fiona leaned in close to Nack's disoriented face. She slowly raked the knife over the weasel's crotch. "Why don't I violate you in return?"

Panic welled up within the weasel and his eyes bulged wide with fear. He thrashed around, trying to get free but the vixen had him pinned down well. He could only manage strangled words.

His cohorts, Bark and Bean, quickly moved in to their boss' aid. The polar bear reached into his jacket pocket, while the duck merely held out a clenched fist in the vixen's direction, as if they were playing a game of "guess what I got in my hand."

"That's enough." Came Snide's voice. He stood at one end of the table and had an air of responsibility and authority about him. He was always like that whenever Scourge put him in charge of missions.

Fiona smirked as she got off Nack. She appeared to move away, but turned suddenly and buried the blade of the knife deep into the ground, a few centimeters away from the weasel's crotch. Nack released a high pitched girlish squeal.

Snide cleared his throat. "Now that Fiona is finished getting acquainted with her new teammate, let us get down to business." He unrolled a large blue paper –the blueprints for the Polworts Steel Factory that Barry managed to print— and began to lay it out.

"OK, our target is this storage room here." He pointed to a large square in the blueprints. "This is where all the refined metal is kept. Once we have it, we will take it here." He pointed to a blank area. "It is the parking lot where the trucks are parked at. Once we have all the metal securely loaded, we bail out."

The coyote turned to the gathered posse. "Now, it may sound easy but there are a few areas that need to be covered. First, we will need a few guys to sneak in and take out whatever guards are stationed outside and inside. I assume the Silent Shadows can handle that. Next, we'll need an outer perimeter to keep put any unwanted guests. The Battle Bird Armada can provide that. Then we'll need someone to open the doors. Tony's crew will handle that."

One of the crew, a Battle Bird who was studying the blueprints intently, pointed to the thick lining that surrounded the storage room. "Wait, what is with the thick lines surrounding this here room?"

"What?" Snide pushed him out of the way and looked at the prints himself. His face darkened and he bared his fangs in a growl of frustration. "Oh shit! The walls and doors are enforced with a thick layer of steel and concrete. It may take us a while to get the doors open."

"Don't worry bouts that." Nack said out of nowhere. "Bean will takes care of it." He gestured to the hyperactive duck, who had a confident smile. It appeared the weasel had found his voice once again, after the utter humiliation Fiona had dealt him.

"And how will he do that?" A member of the Silent Shadows asked.

Nack smirked. "Let's just says, Bean has a… unique talent when it comes to explosives."

"Gentlemen!" Scourge's voice boomed out of nowhere. "This is the beginning of a new age for Mobius. Each and every one of you holds the key to change this world for the better. And it all starts this very night." A second later, the green hedgehog appeared in front of the large monitor. "Now go, gentlemen, to Polworts Steel Factory. And do not fail me." He darkened his voice when saying that last sentence.

They all nodded and then walked to the parking lot, where there were three black Ford Transit vans waiting for them. They all got into each one and soon, they were on their way to Polworts.

 **-X-X-X-**

Sebastian Chandler was feeling pretty darn good of himself. Today was the day he would finally get the better of Miles Prower. The B.R.U.T.E. Force agent sat in his seat in the back of the van, beaming to himself like a toddler who was about to get the toy he wanted.

 _Foolish Prower_ Chandler thought to himself. _He is so sure of himself, so arrogant. Now all that arrogance is going to backfire in his face! And all he will get is complete humiliation while I will go down as the B.R.U.T.E. Force agent who brought down the Tarlini Criminal Empire. Who knows, they might even hang a portrait of me._

"Chandler!" His partner's voice snapped him out of his daydream.

"What is it, Bruce? Are they here?" The agent was quickly alert and reached for his H&K.

"That's a negative." Confirmed the human agent who was keeping a lookout. They had concealed themselves behind some dense trees not far from the warehouse.

After about an hour of waiting, some of the agents were getting restless. They decided to pass the time as best they could, telling each other their exciting back stories or just getting themselves preoccupied with their phones.

Bruce nudged Chandler, who was busy inspecting his weapons. "Hey, Seb, do you really think Tarlini's men are gonna hit this place?" He shrunk back when Chandler turned to him with a withering glare. But he continued. "What if Miles was rig-" He did not get far with his sentence. A sharp backhand from his partner shut him up.

"Do not ever, I repeat, EVER say that!" He roared. "Now you listen here, all of you. We have been B.R.U.T.E. Force agents long before Prower showed up. All of a sudden he brings his abnormal ass along and before you know it, he's the next big thing at the agency, like a world famous actor or something. And, to rub salt in our wounds, he gets the Tarlini case. I worked hard to get where I am now. For two years, I have been asking to take that case and he just comes in and takes it in just three months!" He stood up. "I am not going to let some little know-it-all shit with a genetic deformity take that away from me. Are you?"

The other agents were surprised at his outburst, but once they grasped the logic of Chandler's words, they all raised their fists in agreement. "NO!"

"Good!" Sebastian sat back down, pleased with himself. "Now, gentlemen, tonight is the night we write our names in tomorrow's headlines and B.R.U.T.E. Force's Hall of Fame as the agents who brought down Reggio Tarlini!"

"YEAH!" They all screamed in unison. If Tarlini's men had actually shown up outside, they would have blown their cover. Eventually they returned to waiting, their spirits raised higher than before.

However, after about two hours of waiting, their spirits died down and once again, they became weary. While some of the agents tried to hide it, it was clear they understood that Tarlini's men were not coming there that night.

Fifteen minutes later, the radio buzzed and a voice screamed. _"Chandler! Bruce! Can anyone read me?!"_

Chandler scrambled for it and picked up the speaker. "Agent Chandler here. What is your situation?"

There was a buzz of static and the voice returned. _"Boy, you really fucked up this time, man. Listen, Agent Prower wants you to get in touch with the Mobotropolis Police Department. Have them block all major roads in the west and south side of the city!"_

Chandler was flabbergasted. "Wha- why? What's happening?"

" _I'll explain later. Just do it!"_ The agent at the other end shouted back.

"Wait. Where are you calling from?" Chandler asked, although he already knew.

" _I'm calling you from Polworts, dumbass!"_

 **-X-X-X-**

Expecting maggot water- A saying that means you were expecting something to happen but it never happened.

A/N: I was supposed to upload this three days ago but preoccupations. Anyway please read and review.

J.W.H. 10


	8. Chapter 8

"Hey, guys, I think we got something." Jake announced when it was his turn to keep a lookout. The others crowded around the windows to try and see but it was too dark for them. They had only brought one pair of night vision binoculars so only one person could look outside without any difficulty.

"What do you see?" Miles asked.

Jake kept on looking out. "Hmm. I see three vans coming in. They're going over to the south side of the factory." He continued to watch the vans' movements. Once they neared the factory, they turned and headed toward a rise in the road which sloped to a gentle incline. Jake cursed when the incline hid the vans from his view."

"Shit! They are out of sight."

"What?!" Miles snatched the binoculars from the human and took a look himself. The vans were nowhere in sight. He could however, make out the illumination from their headlights. "Damn. I can only see their lights."

"So what now?" Gareth asked.

"I can't see what they are doing." The fox growled. "For now, we wait and see how they will advance towards the factory. Remember, we may not just be dealing with Tarlini's men. There are also some other criminal gangs we don't know about that are part of that group. I don't want us rushing in there blind."

They all nodded, understanding the logic. So they waited.

 **-X-X-X-**

The vans had stopped in a secluded thicket just on the edge of the factory grounds. Everyone got out and huddled at the side of one of the vans, perfectly concealed from anyone who might be looking. Snide began to explain:

"OK, so first we take out any guards who might be posted anywhere—"

"Whoa, hold up." Bark interrupted. "Why post guards at a steel factory? It's not like anyone is going to try and rob the place."

All the others gave him looks that said "are you kidding me?" The polar bear looked at them, confused but then realized how utterly stupid his question was.

"Um… what I meant was… it's like they already know that we're going to steal their steel… and… they post guards on this night as if they know that we're coming… I'm just gonna stop talking now." Well, in his defense, he had never really heard of a steel factory robbery so this was kind of a first for him? He could have asked some more but he did not want to embarrass himself any further.

Snide just scoffed and rolled his eyes in disgust. _Man, are members of The Hooligans actually this dumb?_ He thought. _I'm curious as to why Scourge even needs them._

"As I was saying, any guards encountered are to be taken out immediately, without hesitation. Since the Silent Shadows are more stealthy, they will be the ones to take care of it. Once the guards are dead, you will give the signal and we'll all move in. The Battle Birds will set up a perimeter and keep an eye out. Once we get to the storage room, Bean can crack the door open with his 'unique talent' –whatever the hell it is-. From there, we simply load the steel into the awaiting semi trucks and make off. Understand?"

They all nodded.

Snide smiled. "Good. Now let's move."

The Silent Shadows approached the fence and quickly climbed over it in no time. Then they moved stealthily and silently towards the factory.

"Wow, they're good. Even better than me." Keith commented.

Fiona scoffed. "What do you expect? They're the Silent Shadows."

Snide interrupted their banter. "Alright, the rest of you, get to work."

Two members of Tony's crew took out two pairs of bolt cutters and quickly went to work snapping at the wire fence.

 **-X-X-X-**

A guard was busy patrolling the southern part of the factory when his radio buzzed. _"Hey, Winston, everything clear in your section?"_

Winston, a Mobian hawk, put the radio to his mouth and wearily replied. "Yeah, what do you expect? It's a steel factory, not a bank."

" _But keep your eyes open, nonetheless."_ The guard on the other end advised.

Winston merely rolled his eyes. "For what? Vandals or a giant magnet? Face it, Neil. We're wasting our time out here."

"Hey, this factory may be farther from the town but we are just taking precautions. You know you can't be too careful."

Winston just sighed in annoyance and switched the radio off. The reason he had taken this job was merely for the thrill of confronting some thieves and to satisfy his constant rushes of adrenaline. He thought he would be posted someplace in the town, where the crime rate was surprisingly high for such a small place. He never expected being stuck in such a quiet boring place as this.

"If I knew this job was going to be this uneventful, I would have chosen to become an ice cream man instead. It certainly could not be as boring as this." he ranted to himself as he walked along. "Fucking paranoid boss. And who, in their right mind would want to come here and steal metal?"

The hawk was so caught up in his rant, he failed to notice two figures landing in the shadow of the building. He continued to walk on, cursing in his head. "That's it. Tomorrow I'm quitting this job." He muttered. "They might as well pay me to stand in a fucking-"

Winston paused. He strained his ears, thinking he heard something. It was the faintest of sounds that sounded like metal chinking. He turned in the direction of the factory and thought he saw movement in the shadows. But he merely dismissed it. "Oh, great job, Winston. You're craving too much excitement, you think the factory's gonna come to life. That's ri-"

The next sound that came out of his mouth was a gasp as he felt the cold steel of a blade piercing his neck, severing his carotid artery. The hawk collapsed onto the ground on his back, staring into a starless sky as he felt the life drain out of him. As his vision faded, he saw two figures standing over him, both dressed in black. _Damn, if these guys are vandals, they really stepped it up tonight_ , those were Winston's last thoughts as he breathed his last.

 **-X-X-X-**

The Silent Shadow who threw the knife bent down and pulled it out of the hawk's neck, some blood still leaking out. He switched on his comlink. "Guard at south side taken care of."

The com crackled and the others gave in their status.

"West side secure."

"East side secure."

There was a buzz as the dead hawk's radio came on. "Hey, Winston. Go check on Connor. He is not respo— AAH!" that was all that was heard, followed by a thud.

The comlink crackled again. "North side secure. Snide, you are clear to enter."

Snide signaled the rest of his team. "OK, let's move out."

They all entered the factory grounds through the hole they made in the fence. As they continued on towards the factory, one of them suddenly stopped and looked around. Then he asked. "Hey. Where's Fiona?"

Snide looked around, puzzled. There was indeed no sign of the red vixen.

"Never mind that. I'm sure she'll catch up. Keep moving."

 **-X-X-X-**

After the hole was cut, Snide called everyone back to the vans to repeat the plan. Fiona, however had other ideas. When they were going back to the vans, the vixen pretended to follow but turned back and went through the hole, straight toward the factory.

To her, just hearing the plan once was enough. She did not get why Snide had to repeat himself. _Probably scared of failing Scourge,_ she thought. In their team, Scourge trusted Snide the most and the coyote, in return, did everything he could to gratify that favor. Which meant performing a mission with absolutely no flaws. Fiona however did not see the reason of trying so hard. Provided you get the job done, that was enough for her. Coz unlike Snide, she was not, nor would she ever, kiss up to the green hedgehog.

She stopped when she saw a dark patch on the ground, which was followed by a lump; a dead guard. And his blood. The guard had a small throwing knife embedded in his neck. Fiona winced at the sight. "Whoa. I guess Snide wasn't kidding when he said 'no hesitation'."

Stepping over the corpse, the vixen approached the wall, perfectly concealed in the shadow. She looked up and saw a small open window. She guessed it was always left that way to allow air circulation. It most likely got uncomfortably hot in there.

Concentrating on how to get to the window, she saw some cracks and indentures in the wall. Using them and her acrobatic skills, she was able to effortlessly scale the wall. She reached the window in no time, finding it covered in dust and cobwebs. The window was too small for a human or a larger Mobian but Fiona was just the right size. It would be a tight squeeze though and she would most likely get her suit dirty but what the hell?

The vixen shimmied through the narrow window, getting dust and webs on her suit. The drop from the window to the floor was not that deep so she jumped and landed with stealthy grace, her light boots not making a single sound.

The inside of the factory was poorly lit but with what poor light there was, she could just make out the smelting vat, which was empty. She could also see various other equipment and across the factory, there was the control room.

Currently occupied.

Fiona could see some flashlights on and figures moving around. No way had the Silent Shadows got in before her. And they sure as hell do not use flashlights.

She pulled the hood of her suit, which doubled as a mask, over her head. Unlike the rest of the team, Fiona did not want her identity revealed. That is why she asked Barry to add the mask. It covered her entire face, only leaving her eyes visible.

With no one else in sight, Fiona guessed that the guards who were posted inside were all gathered in the control room. They were being very noisy so sneaking up on them would be easy. She casually walked up the stairs to the door. She pressed her ear to it to hear their conversation.

"Guys, shouldn't we be out patrolling?" One said.

"For what? Take a load off, man." Another replied.

"Yeah, the guys outside got it covered." A third voice added.

"So we can just sit back, relax and have a drink." The second voice said.

"AWW YEAH!" They all said at once.

Judging by the voices, Fiona guessed that there were only three guards in there. A fair number but the vixen was not too hotheaded to just run in there and take on three guards. Despite her combat skills, that was just too much for her in such a small room.

Fiona reached for her belt and unclipped a flash grenade. She opened the door a crack, thanking her luck that it did not squeak; the guards were too loud anyway and quietly rolled the grenade into the room.

There was a bright flash and the vixen could hear the agonized voices of the guards.

"Aahh! What the fuck?!"

"What was that?!"

"I'm blind!"

Those were the words Fiona wanted to hear. She opened the door fully and watched the guards rubbing their eyes and blinking continuously. She pulled out her weapons, a pair of expandable batons and walloped the two guards closest to her, knocking them out. The third, who had just started to see, charged at her but she merely sidestepped him and tripped him. He writhed on the floor in pain and looked to get up but a sharp whack at the back of his head and he was out.

 **-X-X-X-**

"Guys, I got movement." Miles announced. He could see a small group of the criminals come up from the south side of the factory.

"What's going on?" Gareth asked, appearing at Miles' side.

"Hmm… looks like they're… splitting up." Miles was surprised. In all of their heists, Tony's men never split up. _Unless they are not_ Tony's _men but another criminal gang._ This all but confirmed Miles' hypothesis.

"Splitting up? What, does one of them want to use the bathroom?" Flynn jokingly put in.

The two tailed fox continued to monitor the group's movements. "They're spreading out to all corners of the factory."

"I don't get it. Tarlini's men do not display these kinds of tactics. They are always together." Said Roger.

Miles handed the binoculars to Jake and opened the van door.

"Hey, where the hell are you going?" Jake demanded.

"I'm going to take a closer look." Miles smartly replied, pointing to the factory. Before they could question him further, the fox already disappeared into the undergrowth.

Jake just stared incredulously at the direction Miles went. "Who the hell does he think he is? John Wick?"

 **-X-X-X-**

The group of criminals stopped at the factory's huge double doors. Various locks ran from top to bottom, all secured by padlocks of different sizes.

Tony turned to Keith. "Alright, Keith. Do your thing."

Keith pulled out his various lock picks and got to work. One by one, every lock was opened. In less than a minute, the door was completely unlocked.

Never modest, Keith turned around with a smug grin on his face. Clearly he expected them to laud him.

Instead, Snide just rebuked him. "You'll pat yourself on the back later." He turned to the others. "Let's move.

They pushed the heavy, rusty doors open. The squeaking and scraping sounds echoed all over the factory. When the doors were finally opened, they all walked in. But then they stopped in surprise.

Right there, in the centre of the room, were three unconscious guards, all tied up. Standing by them, was Fiona, with her mask down so all could see the smug expression on her face.

"What took you guys so long?"

Snide quickly wiped off his bewildered look. He pointed to the guards. "Are they dead?"

Fiona shook her head. "No."

The coyote signaled to two Silent Shadows. They pulled out their knives and slit the throats of the guards, killing them for sure.

The vixen grimaced. "Was that really necessary?"

Snide just ignored her. "Stations everyone. Battle Birds, outside. Set up that perimeter. If anyone on the outside gets anywhere near this factory, shoot them. Silent Shadows, you keep to the shadows, spring some unwanted surprises in case our unwanted guests arrive. The rest of you, with me. Let's head for that storage room."

The Battle Birds present shouldered their AK-47s and headed out to set the perimeter. The others went for the storage room, which they found in no time.

As predicted, the door was very thick and had one of a kind locks which had their own unique keys, so lock picking would be useless.

"You'd think they're keeping gold." Snide muttered. He turned to Bean. "Alright, Bean, show us your 'unique talent'."

The duck approached the door. "Alright, but you might want to stand back."

His usual teammates wordlessly did so but the others were puzzled. How was one small duck going to bring down that huge door? Still, they obliged him.

Bean then cupped a fist and reeled it back as if he was going to throw something. The others had confused looks on their faces but Nack and Bark had knowing smirks on their faces.

Bean then opened his fist and threw. Everyone's eyes widened. An explosive appeared in the ducks hand and he threw it straight at the door. The moment the explosive came into contact, it exploded, blasting a huge hole into the door. He turned around and smirked.

Snide wanted to ask the duck how he did that but he quickly recovered from his shock. "Alright, let's go."

They entered the storage room and marveled at the amount of steel that was in there. All refined and ready for the taking.

 **-X-X-X-**

Miles kept running towards the factory, stopping behind a tree every once in a while to avoid being seen. He soon arrived at a section of the fence and hid behind a nearby tree and peeked at the factory. What he saw nearly made him gasp.

A guard was lying dead in a pool of his own blood. Miles guessed a similar fate had befallen every other guard present there. Judging by the amount of blood spilled, they probably had their throats slit.

 _Tony's men do not slit throats,_ Miles thought. A quick bullet to the head was more like Tony. This just made his belief that Tarlini was working with other criminals stronger.

It got even stronger when he saw a group run out of the factory, armed with AK-47s. Miles could clearly see that they were Mobian birds but what unnerved him the most was the insignia that was on the chest of their uniforms.

A skull with red markings.

The Battle Bird Armada.

Miles switched on his comlink. "Hey, Gary, you there?"

" _Yeah, Miles. What's the situation?"_

"It would appear Tarlini has allied himself with the Battle Bird Armada."

" _What?!"_ Gary's voice crackled over the com.

"And that's not the end of it." Miles continued. "There are some others who, apparently do not use guns. They prefer to slit throats."

There was silence at the other end. Then the squirrel's voice returned. _"OK. So there's Tarlini's men, the Battle Bird Armada and some unknown samurais. Shouldn't we call Chandler for backup?"_

"Fuck, no!" Miles almost screamed.

" _Uh… OK. So any idea what their plan is?"_ Gary quickly moved in to change the subject.

"I don't know." The fox replied. "But Gary, when you get here, your orders are shoot to kill, you hear me? Shoot to kill."

Miles shut the comlink off before the squirrel could protest. He readied his H&K and screwed on a suppressor. He peeked from the tree again and saw that the Battle Birds had formed a perimeter and were patrolling the factory grounds. Confronting them on his own would be suicide. Unless he had a strategy.

And he sure as hell had one.

Miles reached for a flash grenade he had on his belt. He tossed it in the other direction close to the fence. Then he waited.

The grenade exploded, releasing a bright flash. It was not enough to blind the Battle Birds but it was enough to distract them. Three Battle Birds rushed to the area of incident, their weapons raised, ready to fire at anything that moved.

Too bad for them, the movement wasn't going to come from there. Miles raised his H&K and targeted the Battle Birds with the gun's scope. Getting a clear shot, he fired, the suppressor muffling the noise. One Battle Bird yelled and fell, dead. The fox quickly maneuvered his weapon to the other two, who were confused and rapidly opened fire in quick succession. The other two joined their companion in death.

He switched on his comlink. "Gary, what's your position?"

" _About twenty-five yards from the factory."_

"OK. Make sure you keep youselves hidden." Miles advised. He then turned his attention to the fence. Rather than climb it, he merely flew over it, landing at the other side without making a sound. Keeping his weapon raised, he cautiously approached the factory entrance.

He could hear nothing inside but just to be cautious, he slowly peeked in. Nobody was inside but he could hear clanging and chattering noises coming from the storage room. He knew that was where they would all be.

The fox was about to venture inside when he saw movement. It was the subtlest of movements but Miles had a very keen eye and did not miss it. He jumped out of the way just in time as a small knife whizzed past, inches from his neck. This was followed by two other knives, which he was barely able to dodge. Before he could regain himself, another knife found its place in his leg. He screamed in pain and pulled it out; thankfully it had missed any major blood vessels. He saw a sash hanging from the hole in the knife's handle. He examined the symbol on the sash: a human figure holding a knife, standing in black.

His eyes widened. The symbol of the Silent Shadows.

Miles saw movement to his left and quickly opened fire. The Shadow was fast and avoided his bullets with ease. Another Shadow landed behind the fox and pulled out a wakizashi, ready to stab him from behind. He never got to though, for he was shot from behind.

Miles heard the body thud and turned to see the dead Shadow. He looked to the door and saw Gary standing there with his H&K raised. "The hell took you so long?" He asked.

The squirrel smirked and lowered his gun. "That's what you say to someone who saved your life?" He suddenly raised it again and fired. The Shadow which Miles was failing to deal with was preparing to throw a knife at the fox. He quickly met his death by Gary's gun.

"…twice?"

Miles ignored him as the duo was soon joined by the rest of Miles, team. He had to think of another plan of attack for no doubt the group in the storage room had heard the commotion. "OK, no doubt they've heard our little entrance so I guess we just have to-" He did not get far though, for bullets were soon whizzing in their direction. A small group had come out of the storage room and were now firing at them.

Miles yelled. "Take cover!"

 **-X-X-X-**

"That's right. Keep going." Snide ordered as they loaded the final semi. With the extra manpower, they were able to complete the job in no time.

The coyote pulled out his phone and dialed Scourge's number. "Yeah, we're almost done.

" _Have there been any problems?"_

"No we haven't encountered any problems. It's all gone smoothly."

Snide was made to eat those words. He heard the faint sounds of suppressed gunshots, followed by grunting and clanging. The sounds were coming from the factory's main room.

" _Good. Hurry up and return to base with your spoils."_ The hedgehog commanded and the line went dead.

Snide guessed Scourge did not hear the row. He pocketed his phone and went to Tony. "Tell your men to go investigate that commotion in the main room."

Tony nodded and signaled some of his crew. "You guys, come with me."

They all took out their apache SMGs and went out. A moment later, there was the sound of gunfire.

Snide turned to the rest of the group. "Alright, let's get the hell out of here.

 **-X-X-X-**

Miles and Gareth hid behind the smelting vat, heavily pinned down by the enemy's gunfire. They could only return fire for a second before being forced back into hiding.

"Hey, Miles! Is this your idea of improvising?!" Jake shouted hiding behind a large machine. He rose to return fire and then hid himself again.

"NO!" Miles yelled back, yanking out his empty magazine and loading another.

"Miles! Are you sure we can't call Chandler's team for backup." Gareth asked timidly, despite the situation.

The fox had a scathing reply on his tongue but he stopped himself. He could not let his pride and disdain for Chandler cost the lives of his team. "Fine! Roger, you run back to the van and radio Chandler. On my signal, we'll cover you!"

The mouse was taking cover behind a large support beam which was wide enough to hide his entire body. He turned to Miles with wide eyes. "Why should I be the one to do it?!"

"NOW!" The fox yelled and simultaneously rose from his hiding spot with the others. They all returned some suppression fire of their own, forcing the enemy to cease shooting and take cover. Roger took the chance to run out the open door, jump over the fence and sprint towards the van.

 **-X-X-X-**

Snide peeked out from the hole in the storage room door and saw Tony's men pinned down. "Let's go! We have what we came for." He ducked back inside when stray rounds hit the door, close to his face. He came back out and opened fire with his Airmag M50, forcing the agents to take cover. The gangsters took the chance and retreated into the hole.

After the gunfire ceased, Miles peeked around and saw that they were retreating. "They're getting away!" He turned to his team. "Flynn, Dennis and Jake and Gareth, you go round back and head them off." The aforementioned agents nodded and left. Miles slowly approached the hole in the door, gun raised, ready to fire at anything that moved.

He entered the room, finding it completely empty. They were completely thorough and practically stole every ton of metal that was stored there.

Miles saw that the door leading to the outside was open. He could hear the running of engines and gunfire coming from outside. The fox was just about to follow, when someone kicked him from behind. He fell to the floor, losing his H&K in the process. He quickly rolled onto his back, only to have his assailant straddle him and pin him down.

From the obvious features that were on display, it looked like a Mobian female. Her entire body, from head to toe and even her tail, was covered in a black and gray suit. The only parts visible from her were her eyes. They were a light blue. And they seemed… oddly familiar.

"Who the hell are you supposed to be?" He mockingly asked.

In response, she adjusted herself and pressed one knee on his left arm, pinning it in place and the other knee on his neck, lightly choking him. "Do you really think I'm gonna tell you that?"

Miles grinned. "It was worth a shot." He then used his free right arm to pinch her side. It worked every time, for she jumped in surprise and slackened her hold, allowing him to throw her off. He quickly reached for his Glock but she recovered quickly and kicked it away from his hand. She followed that kick with a roundhouse kick, which he ducked low to avoid. He, in turn, did a low sweeping kick that knocked her off her feet and sent her sprawling. He moved in to restrain her but she kicked out at him, nailing him in the stomach. He doubled over and she sprang to her feet. She grabbed his head and kneed him in the face, drawing blood from his nose. He fell over, clutching his face.

The unknown female straddled him once more; this time, Miles was too dazed to offer any resistance. "Tarlini wants you dead. And I could easily oblige him. But you're just too cute to die so soon." She got off him and walked toward the door. She turned back to him. "Do yourself a favor and quit while you still can. These are enemies you can't beat." Then she walked away.

 **-X-X-X-**

Using her acrobatic skills, Fiona was able to climb to the roof. From her vantage point, she could see the B.R.U.T.E. Force agents futilely shooting at the departing semis, which had formed a convoy, hoping to stop them. The trucks, however, ploughed on, knocking the gate off its hinges and disappearing into the night.

The vixen ran to the south side of the roof and jumped off. She ran in the direction the vans were parked.

 **-X-X-X-**

Miles forced himself to his feet, still clutching his nose. So far the bleeding had minimized and that was good enough for him. He picked up his Glock and H&K and ran outside.

He saw his team firing at the last semi leaving the factory… well Gary and Dennis were. The others had long since run out of bullets and the others were using their handguns. The fox joined in but it wasn't long before his H&K clicked, indicating that he too, was out of ammo. Angered, he threw it away and sprinted toward the moving truck.

Gareth stopped firing. "Miles, what are you doing?!" He yelled.

Miles was not listening, however. He continued to run after the truck, which was slowly gathering speed. Thanks to all that running he used to do with Sonic when he was a child, he was able to catch up to the semi. He grabbed on to the trailer's back, using the handles to keep himself from falling off.

The fox's quick thinking brain was bust trying to think of a way on how to get to the front of the truck. He came up with one but it was too risky and if it went wrong, he could well end up breaking most of his bones.

Using his tails for an extra thrust, Miles jumped from the back of the trailer and landed on its roof. He steadied himself, thankful that he didn't fall off. He slowly started walking towards the front. When he got there, he now had to figure out how to get inside.

He saw some metal bars attached to the top of the truck's roof. He realized he could use those to swing into the truck. It was a very dangerous stunt but the fox's will to stop the bad guys was stronger than his fear.

Miles grabbed the bar that was on the passenger seat's side and took a deep breath. Then he jumped, adjusting his body in mid-air so that he went through the window feet first.

It was perfectly executed. Miles flew into the window, his legs straight. He kicked the driver, who was a human, causing his head to slam into his closed window. The fox took the opportunity to grab the wheel and try to steer the semi off the road. The driver, however, quickly recovered and elbowed him in the nose, starting up the bleeding again.

Miles fell back into the passenger door, grabbing his nose. A deep animalistic growl came from his throat and he bared his fangs; that was enough. The driver brought his foot out from the pedals and tried to kick him again but the fox easily grabbed the oncoming leg and twisted it so sharply, the foot faced the wrong way. The driver roared in pain but a punch from Miles stunned him into silence. The fox then grabbed the wheel and turned it sharply. The semi veered off the road, away from the convoy and began sliding down a slope on the side of the road. The increased momentum and the many rocks on the slope eventually caused the truck to flip onto its side and began to roll. The driver was flung out the open window but Miles, unfortunately, was still inside, getting tossed around violently until the truck finally came to rest on its side when it hit a tree.

Miles crawled out of the mangled wreckage, his entire body aching. He felt a molten pain in his left wrist and saw that there was a piece of broken glass embedded in it. He grunted as he pulled it out. Ignoring the blood leaking out, he scanned the area and found his target.

The driver was crawling on the ground, moaning in agony as he tried to get away; all in vain. The fox forced himself to his feet and staggered towards him. When he was close enough, he delivered a skull busting punch to the driver's face, knocking him unconscious.

Although Miles was disappointed they did not apprehend the entire contingent, he was at least satisfied they had this one to compensate. Hopefully they would get answers from him.

Now fully exhausted, the injured fox collapsed onto the ground. Soon he was bathed in headlights. He did not bother raising his head to see who it was. There was the sound of doors opening, boots running and then someone grabbed his arm and helped him to his feet.

"Whoa, Miles, you don't look so good." Gareth quipped as he helped his partner to his feet.

"What else is new?" Miles groaned. He pointed to the unconscious man. "Restrain him and put him in the van. And call HQ. Tell them to block all roads entering Mobotropolis. They might intercept the trucks before they enter the city."

Dennis ran off to make the call while Jake quickly moved in and cuffed the man, then lifted him up and carried him to the van.

"I'll interrogate him when he comes to." Miles continued.

"Not like this, man." Gareth protested, still supporting him. "You're practically bleeding from everywhere, you can barely stand and you probably have some broken bones and a concussion."

Miles just growled in frustration. He tried to shake the squirrel off. "I'm fine. I don't need your help."

Gareth did not back down, though. "You're not fine, dude. You look worse than a sick man on his deathbed." His tone then turned serious. "Miles listen to reason, man. Get yourself patched up and then you can interrogate him tomorrow when you're all better. Alright?"

Those words seemed to seep the sense back into Miles, for he stopped struggling and relaxed. "Yeah. I guess you're right."

Gareth laughed. "You guess? I _am_ right."

Miles laughed with him. But a frown soon appeared on his face when he saw a second van approaching. He knew exactly who was coming.

The van screeched to a halt and Sebastian Chandler and company jumped out. "Alright we're here. What did we miss?" He asked.

Miles was so filled with rage, he shook Gareth off him and stomped towards Chandler. He grabbed the confused human by his Kevlar vest and slammed him into the van's side. "This is all your fault! If you had listened to me and followed my orders in the first place, we would have stopped them! But all you did was lead your group towards a false trail! They all got away because of you!"

Chandler could have said something insulting but with the way Miles looked: blood covering most of his face, bedraggled, fur ruffled up; it scared the hell out of him, he remained silent.

Miles let him go, breathing heavily and then pointed to his group. "I'm pulling you all off this case. You will not, in any way, interfere or get involved in anything concerning this. YOU GET ME?!"

Chandler flinched at the last sentence. He was still too stunned at Miles' outburst.

Miles turned to his team. "Let's go." He hopped in the back of the van. His teammates wordlessly followed him. Flynn got into the driver's seat, started the van and drove away.

 **-X-X-X-**

 **A/N: This took longer than I had hoped. I thought I would upload it a week earlier but certain… things have kept me busy. And I wanted to mention more characters but I ran out of scenes for them. Anyway please read and review.**

 **J.W.H. 10**


	9. Chapter 9

Miles gritted his teeth and dug his claws into the arms of the chair as the needle once again pierced his skin, thankfully for the last time.

The human doctor who was treating him finally cut the thread. "All done, Mr. Prower. The stitches should come off in three to five days."

Miles unrolled his sleeve, covering the stitched cut. "Thanks, doc."

"If you like, I can also take a look at your nose." The doctor requested.

The fox just walked towards the door. "No need. It's fine." He said without turning back. He opened the door and walked out of the room. He hated hospitals. Being in a building full of sick people, some fighting for their lives whilst others are giving birth to it, at the same time someone in the next room screaming in agony… it was all too traumatizing and the fox wanted to leave the place as soon as possible.

He found Gareth sitting on a chair, talking amiably on his phone. No _doubt talking to one of his hookers,_ Miles thought with a huff. When the squirrel saw him, he hung up. "You all set?"

Miles partially rolled up his sleeve, showing Gary a portion of the stitched wound. "Yeah. Let's go."

They left the hospital and Gareth was driving them home in his Mercedes Benz c300 coupe. However, he noticed that his partner had a distant look on his face and was staring out the window as if he was in thought.

"Hey, Miles, is something bugging you?"

Something was bugging Miles and it was in the form of that Mobian girl he ran into at the factory. He just could not get her out of his mind. When she pinned him down and when their eyes met, he thought he felt something familiar. As if he had seen her before.

"Hey, Miles!" Gareth repeated himself, this time taking his hand of the gear to smack the fox on the shoulder.

Miles jumped, startled. He turned to the squirrel, an annoyed expression on his face. "What?"

"I was asking if something was bugging you." Gary answered. "Though, judging by your response, I'd say something actually is."

Miles sighed. "I had a little run in with one of the criminals at the factory."

Gary just scoffed. "So? What did he do to you that has you all glum?"

Miles sighed. He knew if he told Gary that he got his ass kicked by a girl, the squirrel would never let him live it down. Gary was a stickler for maintaining what he called a "manly image". So a beating from a girl definitely did not affiliate with the squirrel's idea of being manly. As long as he left that part out then he was in the clear.

"She… kind of reminded me of someone."

"Wait. She?" Gary instantly perked up at the mention that it was a female. "Was she pretty?"

Miles just rolled his eyes. "Seriously, dude?"

The squirrel smirked. "You know me all too well, Miles."

Tails just sighed in disgust. His partner's salacious behavior was something he did not tolerate, much less talk about. He decided to change the subject. "What really puzzles me is that the criminals never entered the city. Not one of the roadblocks reported encountering a convoy of trucks."

"Then it's obvious they're set up outside of Mobotropolis." Gareth put in.

"Yeah. But the question is: where?" Miles asked, more to himself than to Gary.

After another spell of silence, Gary spoke up again. "So, who did she remind you of?"

Miles sighed with nostalgia. "Fiona."

Gareth wanted to scoff but when he saw the look on Miles' face, he knew he was not kidding around. "Alright, Miles. I believe you." The fox turned to him with a puzzled look so he continued. "About Fiona, I mean. Seeing you talk about her like this makes me believe that she really was your first girlfriend and that you popped her-"

"Alright, I get it!" Miles interrupted him before he could go further. "Right now, I want to figure out who the leader of that whole operation is."

The squirrel pulled over. They had arrived at Miles' apartment. "That's something you'll find out from our prisoner tomorrow. As of right now, go get some rest."

The fox got out and shut the door. "Please don't mother me, Gary." He turned and walked to the door.

"Good night to you too, Miles." Gareth called out and drove away.

 **-X-X-X-**

Scourge walked into the parking lot of the base, hands clasped behind his back and a conquering smile on his face. He surveyed the opened trailers of the semis, gazing upon the spoils of the team's thievery. This was what the green hedgehog always liked: a job well done.

He approached Snide, who had his back turned. "Well done, Snide. You managed to secure the goods." The hedgehog patted the coyote on the back. "I hope you did not encounter any problems or obstacles along the way."

Snide turned and faced Scourge and the hedgehog was surprised to see the crestfallen look on his face. He instantly knew something had gone wrong.

"What happened?" Scourge asked with a frown.

Snide began to explain. "Well… everything went according to plan in the first place. Until we ran into a… small group of agents… and…" he began to lose his voice.

"Go on." Scourge goaded, his voice tainted with an edge of malice.

The coyote continued. "We managed to repel them. But as we made our getaway, one of the trucks was stopped."

Scourge silently nodded and Snide did not know if that meant he was off the hook or would be punished later.

"So out of eleven trucks, only ten made it." It was not a question, nor was Scourge addressing him. Then out of nowhere, he suddenly bellowed. "Get these trucks to the hanger!" He pointed to a tunnel on the other side of the parking lot.

One by one, the trucks were driven out the garage through the tunnel. Soon enough, only Scourge and Snide were alone in the garage.

"I thought you said you never encountered any problems during the mission." Scourge said, his voice tainted with a low growl.

Snide tried to keep his voice devoid of any traces of fear. "That was before I called you. Afterwards, these B.R.U.T.E. Force agents showed up."

Scourge turned his head away, his mind deep in thought. Then he turned to the coyote. "Tell everyone to gather in the lab. I would like to address a few issues regarding the execution of your missions."

 **-X-X-X-**

Fiona lay on her bed with a restless feeling about her. Her mind was jumping for joy, various thoughts coursing through it.

She saw him. After six years, she finally saw Miles again.

Fiona was surprised that he had chosen to become a B.R.U.T.E. Force agent. She thought that with his high IQ and skills in technology, he would probably become a leading scientist or a big shot CEO of some techno company he would form himself. But she remembered a conversation she previously had with him regarding his –or in that case, _their_ \- future after they stop Robotnik and he had said that after all that he had experienced, he would find a white collar job boring. She definitely got the point there but seeing him as a B.R.U.T.E. Force agent tonight was really unexpected.

The vixen found herself fantasizing about him more than usual. Mostly it was about his looks. He had obviously grown but he had also gotten more muscular. Before, he was a bit scrawny but he still looked sexy. No doubt some women give him flirtatious glances.

Speaking of women, she was curious: did he have a girlfriend? After six years, there sure was not a chance that he would stay single. Maybe he was already married. The very thought of him sharing a bed with another woman made her blood boil with rage. _And it would be all thanks to that bitch Sally_ Fiona thought with a growl. That thought fuelled her desire for revenge.

She banished those thoughts however, for there was a rather loud knock at her door. With an exasperated growl, she trudged to the door to answer it.

Snide stood there with a stern look on his face. "Scourge has called a meeting in the lab. He expects all of us to be present. Now." The coyote spoke in a no-nonsense tone, Fiona might have mistaken him for a by-the-book school principal.

"What is it about?" Fiona asked.

Snide shrugged. "I don't know. You'll find out soon enough. Now chop-chop! Let's go." He grabbed her arm and pulled her into the hallway. The vixen tried to wrench her arm free but he had a vice-like grip on her wrist. He disregarded the fact that she was dressed in only a vest and short shorts. She was also barefooted.

Fiona was a bit surprised as to why the coyote was being very loutish. She felt like a traitor being dragged to her certain doom. Wait a minute…

The vixen's eyes went wide when the realization dawned on her. Did someone see her little moment with Miles back in the factory? Did they tell Scourge about it? The hedgehog had made it clear that if they encountered anyone during the mission who was a hindrance, then they should not hesitate to kill that person. She had Miles at her mercy, yet she did not kill him. Maybe someone saw her do that and reported it to Scourge. He would probably perceive that as treachery and have her executed in front of everyone.

 **-X-X-X-**

"Come on, Fiona." Snide grunted. "You know Scourge doesn't like to be kept waiting." They had arrived at the lab and that was when he let go of her wrist. The coyote shut the door behind him and proceeded to his seat.

Fiona nervously sat at the back, which was a mistake; Nack was seating there as well. As soon as he saw her, a sickening grin spread across his face as he noticed her skimpy attire.

The weasel let out a wolf whistle. "I thoughts this was a meeting and not a striptease." He then expected a sharp reply in return but did not get one. "Aw what's this? The little vixens lost her sharp tongue?"

But Fiona was not paying any attention to him. Her blood ran cold when she saw Scourge stand in front of the large monitor.

Scourge's sharp eyes scanned the entire group. When he saw Fiona in the back, he gave a small smile. "Now that everyone is here, let us begin. Before I sent you out on that mission in Polworts, I overlooked a certain recurring issue due to my pride. It was something that Mr. Tarlini warned me about but I chose not to listen. And because of that, it has cost us." He cracked his knuckles and then continued. "You lost a truck carrying some of the metal and the driver. Now some of you might think one truck is barely a loss but I assure you it is. I want Project Cerberus launched as soon as possible and that means getting all the necessary materials without a hitch."

The hedgehog smiled when he saw some of the group murmur and nod in understanding, fully grasping his point. He spoke up again. "Another thing I want to address."

Fiona, who was becoming more at ease as Scourge spoke, suddenly went rigid in her seat again. Was he finally going to expose her? If that was the case, then she would be hopelessly overwhelmed when everyone in the room turns on her.

"Do not hesitate to terminate anyone who interferes in this project. This brings me to what Mr. Tarlini warned me about: the constant interference from the law. Mainly B.R.U.T.E. Force." He turned to the mob boss. "What was the name of that agent you told me about?"

"Miles Prower." Tarlini replied.

Fiona instantly perked up at the mention of his name. She did not know that Miles could be such a source of irritation for Tarlini. That quickly put her mind at ease, knowing that he was not talking about her. Which meant he did not know what she did at the factory.

"Yeah. Him. I have been told that he has always been a ball and chain to Tarlini's operations. And now since he obviously knows that we are all working together, he is also gonna be a ball and chain to our operations as well. So, I have decided to issue a task for each and every one of you." Scourge once again turned to Reggio. "Give us a description of Miles Prower."

"He's a yellowish orange fox with two tails." was the brief description Tarlini offered.

That was all Scourge needed. "So he has an easily distinguishable feature: two tails. He shouldn't be too hard to find. So these are your instructions: if you see a two tailed fox anywhere on the streets of Mobotropolis, do not hesitate to kill him."

Everyone nodded in understanding. Fiona had a confident smirk on her face. "Good luck with that." She sarcastically whispered. Miles had survived a lot in his life so she was sure this would not be a problem for him.

"What was that, sweet cheeks?" Nack said, leaning towards Fiona's seat. "You wants to knows me better?" the weasel rubbed his hand on Fiona's thigh "Coz I can shows you better."

The vixen quickly reacted, grabbing his hand and twisting it painfully. Nack yelped in pain, attracting everyone's attention in the room. Fiona however did not care. She adjusted herself in her seat and kicked out at the weasel whist letting go of his hand. Nack fell to the floor with a loud thud.

"Trust me, I've had better." Fiona stood up. "Are we done here?"

Scourge shook his head. "No. There is one more thing I forgot and that is the most important thing."

Everyone turned their attention back to Scourge and Fiona resumed her seat with an annoyed huff. Nack picked himself up from the floor and massaged his hand.

"Project Cerberus must remain secret until it is fully operational." Scourge began. "And since one of our own was captured and is now in B.R.U.T.E. Force custody, he risks spilling out our secrets. And the location of this base. That problem must be dealt with at once."

Kukku XV raised an eyebrow. "Problem?"

Scourge walked towards a door. He opened it and then turned to the group. "Let this be a lesson to all of you of what happens if you get caught." Before they could ask him what he meant, the green hedgehog sped away, leaving behind a green blur.

 **-X-X-X-**

All was quiet at B.R.U.T.E. Force HQ. Well, with the exception of the constant whistling of Larry, the mongoose janitor. He was busy mopping the floor closer to the holding cell door. A loud banging from the heavy steel door interrupted him.

"Hey! Would you fucking stop that?!" The crook inside the cell yelled. That was all he had been doing from the moment they patched him up at the infirmary and brought him there. A cranky fellow, he was.

"Why don't you come out here and make me?" Larry retorted. "Oh yeah, that's right. You can't. So shut the fuck up and think about your actions." The janitor chuckled to himself as he heard a loud bang from inside the cell followed by a series of profanities.

Larry moved on to the offices, still whistling his tune.

Once again, all was quiet.

As Larry continued his work, he felt a gust of wind blow past him. Which was practically illogical since all the windows in the building were closed. Then he heard the sound of a door opening. It sounded like a heavy steel door. The janitor gasped.

The door to the holding cell.

 **-X-X-X-**

When the whistling died down, the crook was sure that annoying janitor had left.

His ears perked up once more as he heard a sound. It was not whistling but rather, it sounded like a wind. And it came from right outside the door, as if the door led directly to windy outdoors.

Then the crook heard the sound of the cell door's lock unlocking. This surprised him. Didn't they say his interrogation was tomorrow?

The door opened fully and Scourge appeared. He had a blank expression on his face.

"Scourge!" The crook exclaimed. Then he broke into a smile. "Come to bust me out?"

Scourge shook his head. "No." He bluntly replied. "You'll serve as an example." Seeing the crook's confused face, he continued. "I'll make this quick."

Before the crook could ask any more questions, Scourge moved in and it was done.

 **-X-X-X-**

Larry dropped his mop and ran back to the cell. As expected, he found it open. Fear gripped his heart with the realization that a potentially dangerous criminal was on the loose in the building. But being a brave Mobian, he slowly approached the door.

He heard sounds coming from the cell. This was followed by a snapping sound that made him wince. Then a green blur blew past him, causing a gust of wind that blew the papers off their desks.

Larry was wide eyed at what he had just seen. But now, his focus once again returned to the holding cell. He took slow quiet steps towards the door, as if he was sneaking up on someone. He may have been brave but he was still apprehensive. He got to the door and peaked in.

What he saw made him gasp and he nearly threw up."Oh, shit!"

 **-X-X-X-**

A/N: I suffered a massive block with this chapter. Just happy I got it done before December. Anyway, please read and review

J.W.H. 10


	10. Chapter 10

Something was wrong.

Miles knew that the moment he stepped inside the building. For starters, everyone he encountered en route to his office kept whispering to themselves. Despite their low voices, however, the fox's excellent hearing allowed him to catch a few snippets. What he could get was something about a break in and a dead body. Of course he tried to brush it off as something any agent would talk about. Break ins and dead bodies were the norm of life as a B.R.U.T.E. Force agent.

But as he entered the main hall leading to the holding cells, he saw a group of agents gathered at the door. He stopped the first agent he met, whom happened to be Jake.

"What's going on in there?" He asked.

The human found it hard to answer. "Uh… you might wanna go check it out for yourself."

Miles raised an eyebrow and looked at the human's eyes curiously. They were wide, as if he saw something traumatizing. But then again, what if he did?

The fox ran to the door and pushed his way past the bodies blocking his way. He entered the cell and what he saw made his eyes bulge to twice their size and almost made him throw up.

The crook he caught yesterday was lying on the floor, leaning against the wall, his head turned 180 degrees the other way.

"Oh, my God," was all he managed to say. This morning, he had woken up with a happy feeling that he was finally going to get answers from this guy and now here he was, lying dead in his cell. Things were just going bad for him. First, it was last night's mission and now this.

"Hey, Miles, you in there?" Gareth called from outside. "I heard you were in here and what's with the crowd gathered at the-" The squirrel entered the cell and stopped talking once he beheld the body. "Holy shit! Wh- what the- what the fuck just happened?" He stuttered.

"I don't know. I found him like this." One of the agents nonchalantly replied.

Miles slowly started to recover from his shock. "So no one saw what happened to him?"

The agent shrugged. "Well, I heard the night janitor saw what happened."

"OK, then where is he?" Miles asked.

"He went home." Was the short reply.

Miles sighed, rubbing the sides of his head. "Unbelievable." He whispered to himself. Then he suddenly got angry. "Why didn't anyone tell me about this?" As the agent in charge of the case, he expected to be the first one to hear about an incident such as this. Hell, he wouldn't even mind if they called him in the middle of the night. He got no reply from the gathered group there. That made him growl in annoyance. "Come on, Gary, let's go ask the janitor what he saw."

The agent scoffed. "Good luck with that." He noticed Miles' questioning look, so he elaborated. "The guy looked spooked. We tried to ask him what happened but he just sat there with this crazy, frightened look in his eyes."

"Poor guy must really be traumatized by that." Gary commented.

The agent continued. "But when he finally did get to talk, he could only mutter a phrase."

"What was it?" Miles asked, getting impatient.

"He said something about 'a green blur'."

 **-X-X-X-**

"Man, what a dump." Gareth commented with disgust as they drove through the shabby looking apartment complex that Larry the janitor lived in. it was located in the east side of the city, aptly nicknamed "Dumptown." The road was littered with all kinds of garbage, some of the buildings looked so dilapidated and pathetic, they wondered if they were still inhabited and they could also see homeless people walking around or sleeping by the dumpsters.

"You sure this is where he lives?" Gary asked, still incredulous. A group of shabbily dressed people were looking at them suspiciously, maybe with a hint of malice. It made the squirrel slightly nervous and he gripped his sidearm tightly.

Miles parked his car opposite a slightly better looking apartment building. "Yep. In there." He pointed to the building.

"Alright then. Let's get this over with." Gareth got out of the car and Miles followed suit. "Don't forget to lock the doors." He jokingly added, changing his tone as if he was chiding a child.

"In this kind of neighborhood? I may have to boot the car." Miles said with a laugh.

They entered the building and were quickly assaulted with foul smells ranging from unwashed bodies to pee. The stairs and floors were littered with old newspapers, broken beer bottles, cigarette butts and used condoms. Occasionally, they could find a fresh puddle of urine in a corner.

Gary shuddered at the sight of the refuse. To call this place a dump would be an understatement; it was a biohazard.

Miles stopped at a door. "OK, this is it." He knocked on the door and waited for a reply. It came in the form of rattling and numerous locks unlocking. The door opened a crack, a chain keeping it from opening further. A tired looking female mongoose peeked out at him.

"Can I help you?" She asked in a tired voice.

Miles smiled as best he could. "Yes. We'd like to speak with Larry. Is he in?"

"NO!" She shouted. She made a move to close the door.

Miles' hand quickly grabbed it. "Ma'am, I would advise you not to lie to a federal agent. So I'm gonna ask you ask you again. Is Larry in?"

The mongoose was taken aback but quickly regained her abrasive tone. "He can't see anyone right now. He's sick."

Miles resisted the urge to scoff. "Actually, he's traumatized. We just want to ask him a few questions about what he saw last night."

"Do you have a warrant?"

"Questions don't need a warrant, ma'am." **(So I'm told)** Miles was getting impatient with this woman.

"Screw that!" She yelled. "You come to my house, unannounced and you want to pester my husband with meaningless questions whilst he's a fragile mess?" Her voice getting louder with each second. "So unless my husband gets better or if you do have a warrant, I suggest you fuck off!"

Gareth, who had stayed quiet for the whole exchange, was seething with exasperation. "My God, you are dense! Listen here, lady, if you don't open this door right now, I will kick it down, cuff you and charge you with obstruction." The squirrel's tail puffed up.

The mongoose's eyes widened at Gary's aggression. She sighed and closed the door to unhook the chain.

Miles whispered to his partner. "Nice move."

Gary smiled. "Thanks. My Lord, she was annoying."

The door opened wide and the mongoose let them enter. The apartment was very clean, heavily contrasting the squalor of the entire building. She led them straight to the living room, where the small TV was on. Larry was lying asleep on the couch, a wet towel over his forehead.

Miles gently shook the mongoose awake. "Hey, Larry? Wake up."

Larry woke up with a violent start. "Aah! Stay away, you devil!" He grabbed the surprised fox's shirt and readied a fist. Only when he returned to his senses, did he calm down. "Oh! Sorry there. I just haven't been the same lately." He let the fox go.

Miles smoothed out his shirt. "Yeah. I can tell."

"See? I told you he's in a volatile state." His wife shouted from the kitchen.

Larry sat up in his chair. "Oh, have you met my lovely wife, Sylvia?"

"Yeah. She's great." Gareth said sarcastically, then muttered under his breath. "And calling her lovely is a tad overrated."

"Anyway, we won't take up much of your time. We just want to ask you what you saw last night." It was best to just get to the point. Miles wanted to finish this as soon as possible. The glares he and Gary were occasionally getting from Larry's missus did not settle him at all.

Larry's face paled as he recalled last night's events. "It- it- it was bizarre. But also horrifying." His eyes became distant and his breathing deepened.

Miles put his hand on the shaken janotor's shoulder. "Easy there, Larry. Just tell us what happened."

Larry took a deep, calming breath and began to explain. "I'm cleaning up the offices next to the holding cells. As I move away, there's this _whoosh_. Like a wind. I go to investigate and see the cell door hanging open. I fear the worst but approach the door. And that's when I saw it: the green blur." He took another breath. "It whooshed past me like _zip!_ " He snapped his fingers and moved his arm outward to emphasize. "Then I went inside the cell and saw that guy lying there, his head twisted the wrong way."

Gareth's eyes were as wide as saucers. "Whoa. That really is scary."

"Must have been something supernatural." Larry added.

"Excuse me?" Miles inquired.

"Some supernatural force must have acted on that prisoner. You know, as a way of punishing him for his sins." The janitor elaborated.

Miles wanted to laugh at the theory but resisted the urge. "OK then. I guess we're done here." He and Gary turned to the door.

Before they left, the squirrel poked his head in. "Oh, Larry. One more thing."

"What?"

"Move the hell out of this damn place!" Then Gary slammed the door before Larry, or his harpy of a wife could reply. He caught up with Miles on the stairway. "Well, that was rude."

"What? The wife, or your parting words." Miles asked impassively.

"Both the wife _and_ Larry." Gary clarified. "For starters, Larry never asked us to sit down the entire time and his wife never offered us anything, like tea or… whatever they pass as beverages in there."

Miles rolled his eyes. "We weren't there for formalities, Gary."

They stepped outside the building and Miles was a bit relieved to find his car still there. They still got some glares from the neighbors though.

"So you think this 'green blur' killed the prisoner?" Gary asked incredulously.

Miles pondered for a bit. "Yeah, that's the only logical explanation." They got in the car and Miles drove them away, relieved to finally be out of that place.

 **-X-X-X-**

Miles and Gary were seated in the former's office, thinking their brains out.

"OK, I believe this green blur is obviously a person." Miles said. "And a Mobian at that."

"OK. So the green blur, whatever it is, was sent to kill that prisoner. For what?" Gareth pondered.

"Isn't it obvious? Clearly whoever is now in charge of the criminal underworld doesn't want us to know their plans." Now another question started biting at Miles: what were their new plans? "So that begs the question: what do they plan to do with that metal that they stole?"

Gareth thought about it for a while. "A fortress." He suddenly threw in.

Miles turned to him. "What?"

"Maybe they're planning to build a fortress." The squirrel lamely offered.

"Really, Gary?" Miles rolled his eyes. "They go through all that trouble just to build themselves a big metal house to hide in?"

"Yeah, that does sound stupid." Gary said sheepishly. "What do you think?"

Miles thought long and hard. Whatever conclusion he could end up with would merely be a wild guess but it was better than nothing. "I think they're building a weapon."

Now it was Gary's turn to roll his eyes. "A weapon? Seriously?"

"Well, it's better than your fortress nonsense." The fox countered.

Gareth held his arms up. "OK fine. Let's just leave that area blank for now." A silence then fell over the duo. The squirrel then looked towards his partner, who had a spaced out look; the same look he had the previous night. "Still thinking about that mystery girl from the factory?" He asked with a smirk.

"Actually, I was counting the number of criminal gangs involved in this whole scheme." Miles lied. He was actually thinking about that girl from the factory. He just hoped he hid it well and that Gary would fail to notice.

"Mobotropolis' crime lord, a bunch of ninjas and a flock of birds, to name a few." Gary laid out. "All joining forces to steal metal."

Miles stood up. "No. There's more to it than that. That's what we'll try to find out, soon enough."

" _If_ we can figure out what their next move would be." Gary put in.

There was a knock at the door and Roger came in, carrying a tablet. "Hey, Miles, I hope you don't mind but I did a little digging about a green blur and I think you should take a look at this." He handed the tablet over to the fox.

There was a news article on the screen. The title read: "MYSTERIOUS GREEN BLUR ROBS BANK". Underneath the title, there was a picture of what appeared to be a green streak cutting through the bank, most likely caught by security cameras.

"So that's what we're dealing with now?" Gareth said, standing over Miles' shoulder so that he could also take a look.

Miles skimmed through the article and scrolled down the page. There was also a video about the whole thing in the article. He tapped the "play" button.

The video showed the bank's vault. Then the green blur flashed past and suddenly the vault was plastered with explosives. They detonated and blew the entire door off. The video had no audio so they did not hear the explosion nor could they tell if the alarm had activated. Then the blur repeatedly entered and left the vault and every time that happened, the money in the vault depleted until it was completely cleaned out. The entire ordeal took less than one minute!

"Th- That was… that can't be real!" Gareth exclaimed.

"There's more of these." Miles found numerous news articles, all headlined with "green blur" but they had different subheadings relating to a different crime: robbery, burglary, mugging and murder. Some of them even had their own accompanying videos.

But one of them really caught Miles' attention. It was a video that revealed the green blur's identity. And it also revealed his accomplices.

The blur came to a stop next to a black van, revealing himself to be a male green hedgehog. The van's occupants filed out: a coyote, a gorilla, a lynx and a vixen; she was the one who really caught Miles' attention. She was wearing a mask, so her identity was still a mystery. Miles quickly recognized them from the steel factory.

"They were all at the steel factory." Miles said. "And I bet this vixen is the one that attacked me."

"Wait, hold on now." Gareth snickered. "You got your ass kicked by a girl?"

Miles' face constricted once he realized what he just said. Both Gareth and Roger burst out into uncontrollable laughter. The fox silently growled and annoyingly waited for them to finish their hysterics.

Gary eventually calmed down; only to put on a fake serious voice. "You are a disgrace to the word 'male'" and resumed laughing. Miles then had enough. He slapped them both to shut them up.

"I said she attacked me. And that's not important." Miles lamely defended himself. "What we now know is that this hedgehog could be the one who organized that heist at the factory."

"And whatever he plans to do with that metal, he doesn't want anyone else to know about it." Gareth concluded.

Roger decided to say something. "I showed those articles to a friend of mine at the Mobotropolis Police Department. He said they've been after the green blur and his goons for five years and they've never caught him."

Miles stood up, a determined look on his face. "Then I guess I'll be the first one." He felt a little like his ten year old self, determined to do what others have failed to. "Roger, you go to your friend at the MPD and tell him to give you everything they have on this case. Tell them that as of now, this has become a federal matter."

Roger protested. "But, Miles, look at this guy. You've just seen the videos. The dude can run faster than the eye could see. The MPD said it so themselves. This guy can never be caught."

Miles looked at the mouse with a grin and a lax expression on his face. "That's because he hasn't met me yet."

 **-X-X-X-**

It was going towards late evening when Roger came into Miles' office. He handed the fox a flash drive. "They had the files stored under 'unsolved cases.'" Before Miles could take the flash, however, Roger yoinked it out of his reach. "Uh-uh. You know, it wasn't easy to get this. There were arguments about jurisdiction and confidentiality until I threatened to call Director Gallard on them. You owe me."

"Yeah, I know." Miles said impassively. He took the flash and bade Roger goodbye. Then he plugged it into his computer and opened it.

There were six files on the flash, each containing collected information about a particular member of the group. They were labeled "Simon Simian", "Lightning Lynx", "Sven Reyes", "Hedgehog", "Vixen" and "Criminal Activity". He opened the first one.

It was of the gorilla:

 **NAME:** Simon Simian.

 **AGE:** 39

 **SPECIES:** Gorilla.

 **SEX:** Male.

 **OCCUPATION(S):** Sergeant of Royal Army (formerly).

 **CRIMES:** Military insubordination, selling military weapons on the Black Market, weapons trafficking, assault, murder.

 **SKILLS AND ABILITIES:** Immense strength, brilliant military tactician, weapons savvy.

 **FAMILY:** Father (deceased), mother (deceased).

"Hmm. A gorilla dishonorably discharged from the army." Miles muttered to himself. "That's a good reason as any to turn to a life of crime." The sarcasm was heavy on that one. He had seen the gorilla at the factory but it was only when he was getting into a truck. With a sigh, Miles opened another file.

This one was of the lynx:

 **NAME:** Lightning Lynx.

 **AGE:** 28

 **SPECIES:** Lynx.

 **SEX:** Male.

 **OCCUPATION:** None.

 **CRIMES:** Kidnapping, burglary, drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, assault, murder.

 **SKILLS AND ABILITIES:** Above average speed.

 **FAMILY:** Father (deceased), mother (deceased), brother (deceased).

 _Now this was an interesting one_ Miles thought. Since he was listed as never having a job, it was obvious he turned to a life of crime firsthand. Also, he had a brother. The fox shrugged and opened the other file.

This one was of the coyote:

 **NAME:** Sven "Snide" Reyes.

 **AGE:** 31

 **SPECIES:** Coyote.

 **SEX:** Male.

 **OCCUPATION(S):** Police officer at MPD (formerly).

 **CRIMES:** Robbery, embezzlement, weapons trafficking, assault, murder.

 **SKILLS AND ABILITIES:** Brilliant combat tactician, weapons savvy.

 **FAMILY:** Mother (deceased).

"Whoa." Miles breathed. Every criminal there had "murder" as one of their crimes. No doubt they were extremely dangerous. And they all had deceased parents. A sadistic thought crossed Miles' mind, probably thinking they might have killed their own parents to spare them the shame but he brushed it off. And this guy, like Simian, was capable of using any weapon he could get his hands on. These guys were really going to be a challenge.

He opened the next file and this one was of the green hedgehog:

 **NAME:** Unknown

 **AGE:** Unknown

 **SPECIES:** Hedgehog

 **SEX:** Male

 **OCCUPATION(S):** Unknown

 **CRIMES:** Theft, robbery, burglary, assault, kidnapping, murder.

 **SKILLS AND ABILITIES:** Supermobian speed.

 **FAMILY:** Unknown.

"Well, that's interesting." Miles muttered. This guy was practically a ghost. Nothing personal was stated, only the obvious facts. Unlike the previous three, his file did not have a mug shot. Instead they used a picture taken from one of the security cameras. But what really unnerved him the most was the hedgehog's face.

He looked exactly like Sonic.

"He looks like Sonic _and_ is as fast as Sonic? He's gonna have to know about this." Miles made a mental note to tell Sonic about this.

He opened the fifth file, which belonged to the vixen:

 **NAME:** Unknown

 **AGE:** Unknown

 **SPECIES:** Fox

 **SEX:** Female

 **OCCUPATION(S):** Unknown

 **CRIMES:** Assault, theft, robbery

 **SKILLS AND ABILITIES:** Highly trained acrobat, skilled hand-to-hand combatant.

 **FAMILY:** Unknown

"Great. Another ghost." Miles said sarcastically. But unlike the rest, the vixen did not have "murder" as one of her crimes and also, she had the fewest crimes of the lot. Maybe she had a good side to her. _Nah_.

There was another file labeled "criminal activity." He opened it and saw that it held videos which were labeled with dates, the earliest being five years ago. The latest was ten months ago. He would have to watch those later.

He went back to the dossiers and idly scrolled through them, eventually coming to rest on the hedgehog. "I don't care what people say. I don't care if the MPD have never caught you. I don't care how fast you are. I'm still gonna catch you." He then scrolled to the vixen's file and looked at her picture. Her face was covered by a mask, her identity a mystery. "I don't care how sweet you look under that mask. I'm not going to show you any mercy the next time we meet."

 **-X-X-X-**

 **A/N: Sorry it took so long. I was caught up reading a new chain of stories and I also had to finish my other one. Anyways, enjoy.**

 **J.W.H. 10**


	11. Chapter 11

Nack casually walked up a stairwell of the building he was in. carrying a bag with him. As much as he wanted to take the elevator to make it quicker, he did not want to get spotted by anyone and get charged for trespassing. It was, after all, an office building. But luckily, it was a Saturday, so not a lot of people were present but he did not want to take the chance of running into anyone. Hence he was using the stairs to get to the top.

The weasel looked at the floor label on the wall and saw that, to his frustration, he was only up to the tenth floor. The building had twenty.

His earpiece crackled. "Hey, Nack, you at the top yet?" A deep voice asked. It was Bark.

"No. I'm on the tenth floor and rising." He replied with exasperation.

"Well, you better hurry. The target might be here any minute."

Nack rolled his eyes. "But he ain't here yet, is he? So unless he shows his furry ass, I suggest you shut the fuck up!" He screamed into the earpiece and continued to climb up the stairs. Ten minutes later, he had finally arrived at the top.

He made his way to the roof's edge. There were raised slabs of concrete around the edges so that offered him a good hiding spot. And an even better vantage point. "Alright, I'm in position. Any sign of our target?" Nack said into the earpiece.

"Not yet." Came Bark's response.

"Good. That gives me plenty of time to prepare." The weasel unzipped his bag and ogled what was inside: a sniper rifle. "Hello, beautiful." He whispered.

"You know we can hear you, right?" a female voice came over the earpiece.

Nack sighed. "Remind me again why we have to bring the vixen along."

Fiona chuckled. "So that you boys don't mess things up."

Nack took the rifle out. The barrel was separated from the rest of the weapon so that it could fit easily in the bag. It was way better than taking a rifle that could not be disassembled. A longer bag than the one he was currently carrying could have surely aroused suspicion.

"You know, Fiona. Me and my gang have a 'no pussies allowed' rule." The weasel sneered.

"Then why do they hang out with you?" The vixen retorted. If Fiona could see his expression, she would have had a bigger smirk.

The earpiece was filled with laughter. "Ha, ha, ha! Burn, Nack!" That was Bean's voice.

"Shut up!" Nack snarled and proceeded to assemble his weapon. He screwed the barrel on and tugged it a few times, checking if it was secure. When he was satisfied, he rummaged around the bag again and pulled out a full magazine. He inserted it and armed the weapon.

"Are you even sure this guy will even show up here?" Fiona asked, her voice filled with annoyance.

"Yeah. Tarlini said he frequents this park." Bark answered.

Fiona sighed with boredom. "Tarlini might just be exaggerating. To me, one fox can barely be called a threat."

Nack grinned and he deepened his voice to make it sound sexy. "You know, Fiona, if you's be getting bored, you can always come up here. I could enjoy the company."

The vixen rolled her eyes. "Trust me, Nack, if I was up there with you, I would push you off the roof."

This earned another fit of laughter, but it was brief.

"Stow it, guys!" Bean snapped everyone to attention. "Here he comes… I think."

Nack pulled out a scope and attached it to his rifle. "You's think?" He scoffed.

A blue Mercedes Benz Coupe pulled up to the parking lot. Three Mobians alighted from the vehicle: a hedgehog, a squirrel and a fox.

Bean inconspicuously eyed the fox through his sunglasses. "No, it _is_ him. See? Notice those two tails. Tarlini did say it would be his trademark giveaway."

Nack assembled the rifles' stands and mounted the weapon on them. "To be honest, I don't really know what Tarlini is fussing about. He says this fox has been difficult to kill but just look at him. He's as helpless as a granny."

"Never underestimate your opponents, Nack." Fiona warned.

"Whatever, fortune cookie." The weasel scoffed. "Just says the word, gentlemen, and I'll drop this son of a bitch."

"Wait!" Fiona said, almost too hastily. "He has to stop moving first."

Nack chuckled at the vixen's advice. "Pu-lease, vixen. You can just call me the Mobian version of Deadshot. I don't miss." He aimed the rifle. "Plus, I have a steady hand."

Fiona already had a sharp reply coming up. "You? Steady hand? Nack, the only time you probably have a steady hand is when you're pleasuring yourself."

Bark and Bean burst out laughing, hard, the latter almost about to blow his cover.

 **-X-X-X-**

"So, you guys come here often?" Gary asked as they got out of the vehicle. He eyed the park with wonder. He had lived in Mobotropolis for most of his life, yet he had never considered visiting Maximilian Park. He marveled at its beauty.

"Well, not much." Sonic replied. "We came here as recently as last week Saturday."

"It is kinda nice, though." The squirrel complimented.

"You, see, Gary? There are better ways of spending Saturday mornings other than waking up with a massive hangover and a strange girl at your side." Miles said, aiming a dig at Gareth's lifestyle.

"Can't help it if I've got the right stuff, Miles." Gareth shrugged. Then a smirk played on his lips. "Unlike me, when was the last time you had sex, hmm?"

"Does that really matter?" Miles asked, rolling his eyes.

"Of course it does. Right, Sonic?" The squirrel nudged Sonic in the ribs.

"Uh… yeah… kind of… more or less." He lamely answered.

Gareth's smirk never left his lips. "Perhaps it might not matter to you, being a eunuch and all."

A Mobian duck that was seated at a nearby café, with sunglasses on suddenly burst out laughing. Apparently it was for no reason since he was sitting alone.

"What's up with that dude?" Sonic asked, eyeing the duck with a bit of concern for his sanity.

Miles shrugged with disinterest. "Beats me."

"He's probably talking on his Bluetooth. You know how using those things can make a person unknowingly commit a faux pas." Gareth stated. The three walked past the duck.

After a brief silence, Sonic turned to Gary. "For the record, I am _not_ a eunuch."

 **-X-X-X-**

From her vantage point in their van, Fiona had a good look at Miles. God, he looks even more handsome in the daylight, she thought. She had an irresistible urge to jump out the van, run to him and envelope him in a rib cracking hug. But she knew she had to resist. She could not be doing that in front of The Hooligans.

They were sent to the park by Scourge to kill Miles and she tagged along mainly so that she could see him again. And to thwart the Hooligans' attempts to kill the love of her life. So far, things looked OK; she had stalled Nack in shooting Miles but he was going to take the shot eventually.

As if on cue, her earpiece crackled. It was Nack. "OK, they're sitting down now. I gots a clean shot."

"Then by all means, take it. Let's fucking get this over with." Bean groaned with boredom. Mostly, he was upset because he would not be the one to off the fox. Leaving him on the sidelines like this was just a waste of his skills.

 **-X-X-X-**

Nack adjusted his scope's angle and positioned the rifle. Right now, he had the two tailed fox's head dead centre in his crosshairs.

He grinned, showing off his mismatched fangs. "He, he. Bye-bye fox." His finger slowly caressed the trigger.

Then he squeezed it.

Nothing happened.

"What the fuck?!" Nack hissed. He pulled the trigger again and again yet nothing was happening. No bullet was flying out the nozzle and no two tailed fox was dropping onto the pavement with blood pouring from a headshot.

"Hey, Nack, while we're still young here!" Bark's deep voice, tainted with boredom, came over the earpiece.

The weasel took cover behind the slab and angrily disassembled his rifle, muttering curses to himself. "What could have gone wrong, what could-" He disassembled the trigger mechanism and finally discovered the problem.

The hammer and spring were removed.

"What the fuck? Somebody messed up my gun!" He roared.

"Really?" Fiona asked with mock concern.

Nack only half growled, half groaned in response. He pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head from side to side, thinking to himself.

"Hey, Nack, do you have an alternative or do we call it off?" Bark asked.

The weasel suddenly perked up and smiled to himself, suddenly remembering something. "Hey, Bean. Still want a crack at killing him?"

"More than ever!" Was the duck's zealous response.

"Then plant a bomb under the car."

 **-X-X-X-**

Bean almost flew out of his seat with excitement. Finally, he was going to kill! But the duck kept his cool as he casually strolled over to the parking lot. He approached the Mercedes and looked around, making sure no one was looking. Once he was sure the coast was clear, he crouched down beside the car. He clenched and unclenched his fist and a block of C4 appeared in his palm.

"Um, guys? What should I set the timer at?" Bean asked into the earpiece.

"I don't know, four minutes?" Bark nonchalantly threw in.

Bean shrugged. "Hmph. Works for me." He typed in the digits and armed the bomb, then stuck it in the car's undercarriage. "OK, bomb is set. Meet you guys at the van." He casually walked away from the car and approached their van, parked a few cars away. He opened the side door with a satisfied grin on his face.

"Mission accomplished—" He stopped talking when he noticed that the van was empty. On the floor was Fiona's earpiece.

Bean switched his on. "Uh, guys? Fiona's gone."

Nack quickly replied in a harsh voice. "Forget about her. As long as she doesn't interfere, it's all good."

 **-X-X-X-**

The moment Nack had ordered Bean to plant a bomb on Miles' friend's car, Fiona's mind had been hard at work trying to find a solution to stop the bomb. So far, she had none but eventually, an idea had popped in her head; she silently thanked Miles for teaching her how to think on her toes. She even had a way to make the plan more creative and worthwhile.

Fiona grabbed a notepad and pen. She scribbled a note on a page, tore it out and folded the paper in half. Then she ripped off her earpiece and tossed it on the floor, threw the van's side door open and walked out to the park.

She knew that Bean would be heading back to the van once he had planted the bomb and Bark was just too easy to avoid. Nack would still be in the building, so she was confident no member of the Hooligans would witness her treachery.

Fiona walked up to a group of trees that concealed her well and she also had a good look at Miles and his friends without them seeing her. They were seated on a park bench. However, she panicked when she saw Miles stand up and head for the parking lot.

He was going for the car! She had to act fast.

As luck would have it, a Mobian cheetah was playing with a toy plane nearby. There were no other cheetahs present so maybe the kit's parents were not present. _Perfect._

"Hey, kid." She called to the cheetah. The kit stopped his activity and regarded the vixen standing under the tree. "Wanna make an easy twenty rings?" She asked as she pulled said note out of her pocket and dangled it with her fingers.

The kid stared at the money like a sparkly jewel. "Uh huh. What you want me to do?"

She pointed to Miles in the distance. "Just run over to that orange fox in the distance there and tell him to come here. And that's it. Easy money."

That tickled the kid's fancy. He nodded vigorously and sped off towards the orange fox.

 **-X-X-X-**

"… and I told her 'pay you? Your pussy was as loose as an old lady's.'" Gareth said, concluding a story of another one of his sexual exploits.

Sonic quickly burst out laughing. "Ha, ha… Oh, man, Gary, you're a riot!" The hedgehog wiped a tear from his eye.

"If you think that's funny, let me tell you about the one where I got tied to a bed by a masochist." Gareth offered.

Miles stood up, a bemused look on his face. "OK, I don't want to hear that." He started walking in the direction of the car. What had initially been planned as a normal hang out between friends had quickly deviated to dirty pillow talk. All thanks to a certain squirrel. _Maybe bringing Gary along was a mistake,_ he thought.

"Hey, mister." A small voice said. Miles looked around, then down and saw a Mobian cheetah trying to get his attention.

The fox put on a smile as he stooped to the kid's level. "Hey, little dude. What's up?" He offered a fist bump, which the kid hastily returned.

"A girl fox is calling you." The cheetah pointed to a tree. "She's over there."

Miles followed the kid's finger but all he saw were trees. "I don't see any-" He was interrupted when the kid grabbed his arm and started to pull him in the direction.

"Come on already, mister!" The cheetah yanked his arm harder.

"OK, OK." Miles started to walk towards the trees but the kid was practically running ahead, occasionally stopping and gesturing for him to hurry up. However, he was deep in thought. Who was this vixen that wanted to see him? Could it be Fiona? There was no other explanation for it. He did not know many other vixens and they did not even come to mind, only Fiona. A smile played along his muzzle as he finally realized that this was probably going to be the first time in six years that he would see the love of his life. He quickened his pace to match the cheetah; of course, it was an exercise in futility.

The kid got to the trees first and he stopped all of a sudden. Miles wondered why but then he saw why.

There was no vixen in sight.

"What the… but she was just here!" The kid wailed and started circling the trees, frantically looking around and hoping that maybe the vixen was just playing some sort of game with him. He was really looking forward to spending that twenty rings.

Miles sighed as he felt his hope fall like a tree. He tried to contain his frustration in front of the kid. But as he turned to address him, that was when he saw it.

A folded up paper was attached to a branch. Together with a twenty ring note. He plucked both papers from the branch and started to unfold the note.

The kid noticed the two papers in Miles' hand and quickly ran up when he spotted the green one. "Hey! That money's mine! I earned it!"

Miles absentmindedly handed the money to the kid, who snatched it and ran off. He kept unfolding the paper. It smelled of women's perfume, that was a positive sign. Albeit he did not know what kind of perfume Fiona wore, or if she wore perfume at all.

He finally had the paper unfolded. Inside was a note. It looked hastily written but the message was as clear as day:

 _I miss you. And I still love you. Always._

 _Fiona._

Miles' heart almost melted as he finished reading the note. She was here, right here in this park. She had seen him, yet he did not see her. And most of all: she still loved him. The fox closed his eyes as he held the note to his heart and silently whispered. "I still love you too."

BOOM!

He was violently snapped out of his thoughts by an explosion in the parking lot.

 **-X-X-X-**

Gareth had just finished telling Sonic the story he had previously mentioned, which had the hedgehog almost falling off his chair.

"Oh, man… ha, ha, ha… dude that was insanely priceless!" Sonic exclaimed amidst a laughing fit that would have had his bladder opening uncontrollably; thank goodness it was empty.

Gareth smirked at Sonic's reaction. He was glad that somebody at least found his stories exciting. "At least you appear to appreciate my stories. Unlike a certain _someone._ " He turned in the direction of his car, thinking that Miles was in it. Then he turned back to Sonic. "Hey, you've known Miles longer than me, right?"

Sonic nodded. "Yeah."

Gareth continued. "So do you know why he sometimes gets all moody all of a sudden? I mean, he sometimes gets this distant and… well, I wanna say _sad_ look on his face."

Sonic's face went somber. He was reluctant to talk about Miles' private life behind his back. But he saw Gareth as a true friend to the fox and felt that the squirrel would never betray his trust. "OK, I'll tell you. Six years ago, Tails had a girlfriend. They loved each other so much that they would often talk about living a life together when they were old enough."

"Fiona." Gareth whispered.

Sonic looked at him in surprise. "He told you about her?"

"Not much really. He just said that she was his first girlfriend and she left unexpectedly." He then added after a beat. "He also said he popped her cherry."

Sonic chuckled a bit. "Yeah. But about her leaving, that's not the full story."

Gareth sat up in his seat. "I'm listening."

Sonic thought for a moment, debating whether or not he should tell Gareth everything.

BOOM!

Both Sonic and Gareth were shaken out their seats by an explosion from the parking lot. When they regained their senses, they looked towards the source of the explosion. Both their eyes went wide. Gareth's car was engulfed in flames with its debris scattered all over the place.

"Miles!"

"Tails!"

 **-X-X-X-**

Nack was coming down the stairs of the building when he heard the explosion. He switched on his earpiece. "Hey, guys, I needs confirmation. Is the fox dead?"

"Yeah." Bean answered confidently.

Nack almost broke into a grin but Bark's voice interrupted him. "No, he's still alive. I can see him right now."

"What?!" The weasel exclaimed, before remembering that he was still in the building's stairway; anyone could have heard him.

Bark continued to speak. "But don't worry. He won't be soon. I'm going after him."

Then Nack heard static at the other end. "What? Hey, Bark!" He got no response. "Hotheaded idiot!" He growled as he finally reached the bottom stairs. He ripped out his earpiece and threw the exit door open.

 **-X-X-X-**

The explosion caused all kinds of panic around the park as people started running around willy-nilly. Miles pushed the panic stricken people out of his way as he forced his way toward his friends.

He was almost there and was about to call their names when he was suddenly tackled to the ground by a large Mobian polar bear. He almost brushed it off as a mere accident caused by a frantic civilian but this polar bear appeared to target him. He scrambled to his feet and faced his attacker.

Bark grinned maliciously as he cracked his knuckles. "Ho, ho, this is gonna be fun!"

He charged at Miles and swung a fist. It was sloppy and Miles was able to dodge it easily but Bark came at him again with a fierce backhand that caught him square on the jaw. He spun around but regained his balance.

Bark saw his opponent disoriented and that was what he needed. He pulled out a serrated combat knife from his coat pocket and advanced on the helpless fox. He was in for a surprise when Miles quickly recovered, leaped up in the air and delivered a powerful dropkick to his chest. Bark staggered backwards, dropping his knife in the process and losing his balance. He fell to the ground in a heap.

Miles wiped a hand across his muzzle and inspected it, glad to see that it was not bleeding. He had been doing a lot of that lately. He approached the polar bear, who was just starting to get up and kicked him hard across the face. If it had been a smaller Mobian, the blow would have been enough to knock him out. In Bark's case, it hurt like hell and took him out of commission for a while. Now all Miles needed was something to restrain him with.

Suddenly, he felt a kick on his back that pushed him away from Bark. When he turned around, he was staring at a wickedly grinning weasel and a snickering duck.

"Now, let's makes this quick, shall we?" The weasel said, pulling a knife from his belt.

Miles was so focused on the two; he failed to notice Bark get up behind him. He suddenly felt himself enveloped in an inescapable bear hug.

"Sorry, kid. But he wants you dead." The weasel sneered as he brandished the knife and readied himself to bury it in his chest.

 **-X-X-X-**

"I can't believe it. He's dead." Sonic whispered.

"And it's all my fault. I was the one who made him leave with my sex stories." Gareth sobbed.

Sonic was about to comfort the squirrel when his eyes turned to the panicking crowd. He saw a polar bear attack an innocent civilian, tackling him to the ground. When he took a good look at the civilian, his eyes widened. It was Tails!

He quickly nudged the weeping Gareth. "Hey! There's Tails!"

The squirrel's vision was blurred by unshed tears which he wiped. That was when he saw his best friend and partner take a massive backhand to the face from the bear. That brought him back to his senses. "He's being attacked! He needs our help! Come on!"

The two ran towards the fight. Sonic could have used his super speed but there were just too many people in the way, running about erratically, that he might have bumped into someone if he did so. So he stuck to normal running speed, maneuvering around people.

Sonic and Gareth could just see Miles get up and deliver a dropkick to the polar bear that knocked him to the ground. Then he savagely kicked the brute across the face.

Sonic had a grin of pride spreading across his muzzle. Looking at Tails handle himself against a Mobian as big as a polar bear only made him more proud of his little bro.

The grin faded when a weasel and duck snuck up behind Tails, with the former kicking him in the back. He and Gareth hurried in their movements. Then the polar bear stood up and quickly wrapped his arms around Miles, rendering him immobile. The weasel pulled out a knife and advanced on the helpless fox. He raised the weapon and prepared to carve Miles' heart out.

By now, Sonic had found an opening where he could finally use his super speed. He zoomed in and quickly knocked the weapon out of the weasel's grasp, then extricated Miles from the bear hug in quick succession.

 **-X-X-X-**

"What the fuck?!" Nack exclaimed when he something fast knock the knife out of his grasp. Then he saw it: a blue blur whizzed past and just like that, Miles was missing from Bark's arms.

The blur stopped in front of a stunned looking squirrel and when it finally cleared, Nack's eyes went wide.

"Scourge?"

Sonic put Miles down and eyed the weasel inquisitively. "What did you call me?"

Nack silently cursed to himself, realizing he had just let his leader's name slip.

Gareth, who had just started to recover from the shock of witnessing Sonic's powers, stepped in. "I'm gonna have to ask you to put your hands up and surrender, lest you want to get beaten into submission." Whoa, that sounded tough, so much that he almost felt bashful.

Bean stepped forward, arms up and his hands curled into fists. But instead of looking beaten, he was grinning. "Sorry, pigs. But my hands are… FULL!"

He suddenly unclenched his fists. Three bombs appeared from his hands and rolled straight for the three. Their fuses were almost exhausted.

The trio's eyes widened. "Oh, shit!" They barely had time to get out of the blast radius before the bombs exploded, throwing them off their feet and covering them in dust and soil. Neither seemed able to move and instead they rolled onto their backs and looked around.

The Hooligans were gone.

 **-X-X-X-**

Bark jumped in the driver's seat of the van whilst Nack and Bean threw the side door open and jumped in, panting hard.

"Where have you guys been?" A female voice asked. They looked up and saw Fiona, casually seated and looking at her phone.

Nack angrily advanced on her and grabbed her shirt, hoisting her up. "Never mind us. Where the fuck were you? We almost got caught out there!"

Fiona brought her knee up, straight into the weasel's crotch. He gasped and let her go, clutching himself.

"I had to go to the bathroom." She answered as if nothing happened.

"Then why'd you take your com off?" Bean accused.

"What, you wanted to hear the sounds?" The vixen asked with a mischievous smirk.

Bark drove them out of the park and soon, they blended in with the traffic as if they were just normal, regular people.

Nack had started to find his voice again, in spite of his pain. "You could have at least backed us up. If you's had showed up, the fox would probably be dead right now."

Fiona looked at him in mock surprise. "You didn't kill him?"

"Thanks to you." Nack growled.

Fiona bared her fangs at him. "If I remember correctly, you said that you didn't want me here in the first place. So I don't see how your screw up is my fault." She punctuated her last sentence with a poke in the weasel's chest.

"I would have had him if someone had not messed with my… oh, shit." Nack's eyes went wide as he frantically looked around. His bag was nowhere to be found. "Shit! I dropped my bag!"

Fiona smirked as she reclined in her seat. "That's a shame." She said, her voice completely lacking in sympathy.

 **-X-X-X-**

"So, you failed to kill him?" Scourge asked. His back was turned to them and his voice lacked any emotion.

"Well, I would have if someone hadn't messed with my rifle!" Nack protested. "And some help that bitch turned out to be!" He pointed an accusing finger at Fiona.

"I'm not the one who screwed up so badly, I left incriminating evidence at the scene." Fiona retorted nonchalantly, not even bothering to turn her head towards the weasel.

The reminder of Nack's blunder stung him. He expected a vehement tirade of demeaning abuse from the green hedgehog.

Instead, Scourge turned around, his face still emotionless. "None of that matters anyways. We have shift our concentration back to Project Cerberus. Barry." He turned to the nerdy mouse. "Call everyone in. I want them all here in the next hour.

Barry nodded and quickly disseminated the news.

In the next hour, the lab, which now also doubled as a briefing room was packed.

Scourge stood in front of the large monitor. "I want to speed things up in acquiring the materials for Project Cerberus. So, we're going to multitask. I have decided to split the team in two. Both teams will be stealing simultaneously in separate locations. That way, we move along twice as fast and we confuse any interfering lawmen." He grinned when he saw nearly everyone nod in approval.

He stepped down from the stage and bade Snide to follow him. When they were alone, Scourge said to him. "I'm putting you in charge of one team, alright?"

Snide nodded. "Yeah, I know but is this really a good idea to split up the team?"

"Yeah. That way, we can speed up production. It's simple multitasking." Scourge soundly explained.

"OK. But who will be in charge of the other team?" The coyote asked.

"Me."

 **-X-X-X-**

 **A/N: The ending was not as dramatic as I hoped but I hope the entire chapter is. Please read and enjoy.**

 **~~~***AND HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS!***~~~**

 **J.W.H. 10**


	12. Chapter 12

Fiona just could not take it anymore. She had to go see him. Not like yesterday, when she gazed at him from a distance. But she wanted him to be close. Intimately close.

She wanted to hold him, feel him against her, feel every fiber of his being right next to her.

She wanted to kiss him, feel his lips on her own, feel his passionate embrace, his hands all over her as his touch takes her breath away.

She wanted to feel him inside her again.

Fiona's breath hitched at that last thought. But it was understandable. It had been six years since they last had sex, let alone touch or see each other.

But now, the vixen was going to change all that. Today.

She got up from her bed and went to the shower to cool off. Thoughts about Miles always had her feeling… hot in different places. She stripped naked and stood under the cold water, rubbing her hands in different places on her body. She was half tempted to rub one out but she did not want to make herself sweaty again.

Fiona stepped out and dried herself, then went to her closet to choose her attire. She settled for a red and blue checkered shirt, a blue pair of skinny jeans and blue canvas shoes. To top it off, she sprayed herself with some perfume and wore her favorite bow on her head; it had sentimental value. She checked herself in the mirror, satisfied at the image she got back. Then she stepped out of her room and made her way to the exit.

She was just about to pass through the lab, when she heard a voice that almost made her jump. "And where do you think you're going?"

Fiona put on a blank face and turned around. "Out." She answered passively. "I don't like spending the entire day cooped up in this bunker, thank you." She grabbed the door and yanked it open but suddenly, the source of the voice that was a good distance away was now a foot in front of her.

Scourge looked her up and down. "You're awfully dressed up for someone who is just 'going out.'" He made air quotes. "You're not going to see friends, are you?"

Fiona chuckled humorlessly. "I don't have any friends out there."

Scourge nodded slowly. "Good. Coz friends are a sign of weakness. They make one hesitate at the most crucial moment. I don't want that from any of my teammates."

"Good to know." The vixen made a move to go around him but he grabbed her arm. "Hey!"

"You know, I'm kinda bored too. Maybe we could keep each other 'entertained.'" The green hedgehog suggested with a hungry look in his eyes.

It was not the first time that Scourge had made advances towards Fiona. And every time, she comically turned him down and left with a feeling of revulsion in her gut.

The vixen smirked and leaned in close to Scourge. "You know, Scourge. You may be astonishingly fast…" she reached behind him and there was a clink. "But you're still slow in understanding."

She pulled away from him and walked o towards the exit. Scourge made to follow her but was stopped when his hip would not go with his body. He glanced down and was taken aback with what he saw.

Fiona had somehow disconnected his wallet chain from his jeans and had tied the other end to the horizontal bar on the door. He did not even know how he could not feel that but now his brain registered it. He yanked on the chain but it did not give.

"Uh, Fiona…" he looked back up and saw that the vixen was already gone. "Fuck. Uh, Barry? Snide? Anyone?!"

He growled to himself. He hated appearing weak.

 **-X-X-X-**

Miles received a phone call from Director Gallard, calling him to work. He had a pretty good hunch why.

He opened the door and stepped into Gallard's office without bothering to knock. "Alright, Chief, let's make this quick." He plopped himself onto a chair without bothering to ask for a seat or waiting for the request.

Director Gallard did not take that too kindly but he stopped himself from voicing it out. He could understand the fox's sour mood since he was being called to work on a Sunday. "Yesterday, innocent lives were put in danger because someone wants you dead."

Miles rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I know."

"Any particular reason?" Gallard pressed.

"Because I'm a pain in the ass to most criminals." Miles replied nonchalantly.

"This isn't a matter to take lightly, Prower!" Gallard thundered, almost knocking his chair over as he stood up.

"Did you run the prints on that rifle I gave you?" Miles asked, his demeanor unchanged. He did not even flinch.

Gallard calmed himself down, realizing that his outburst was too exaggerated. "Yes. It belonged to a weasel who calls himself Nack. He's a hitman and occasional thief, together with his two cohorts, Bark, a polar bear and Bean, a duck. The latter of who has shown some rather… unique abilities."

"Yeah. Apparently, he can make bombs appear out of thin air." That revelation did not really freak Miles out. Throughout his twenty-one years, he had seen more than his fair share of the impossible and unnatural.

"Together, the call themselves 'The Hooligans'. A huge understatement if you ask me." Gallard stated. "Together, they have been involved in various robberies around the city. All of which involve multiple explosions, courtesy of the duck with the magic powers."

Miles wanted to roll his eyes but he just settled for a scoff. "There's no such thing as magic, Sir. But these are the same guys that attacked us in the park yesterday."

"Right. So Tarlini wants you dead so badly, he hired The Hooligans to kill you."

"Yeah. Or they're all involved with that green hedgehog. Whatever the case, I'm gonna bring them all in." Miles stood up and prepared to go. "Good talk, Sir."

He was almost out the door, when Gallard shouted out to him. "Oh, one more thing I forgot to tell you!" The fox turned his head. "Two more steel factories were robbed last night. And this time, the green hedgehog was involved."

 **-X-X-X-**

"So, what did Director Gallard want to say to you?" Gareth asked the moment Miles stepped into the car.

The fox merely shrugged as he started the engine. "Other than blowing hot air in my face, he wanted to tell me that two other steel factories were robbed last night by our new supervillain team."

"Anything else?" Gary pressed.

Miles momentarily took his eyes off the road to glance at his partner. "Yeah. He told me that witnesses say they saw what appeared to be 'a green streak' zooming around one of the factories."

"So the green hedgehog strikes again. And we were too busy getting bombs thrown at us by a magic duck." Gareth wanted to laugh at that last sentence.

"Gary, there's no such thing as magic." Miles said, rolling his eyes.

"I don't care what it is. But he made it personal when he blew up my car." The squirrel snarled. "When I catch him, I'm gonna beat him up so bad, his beak's gonna turn the wrong way."

Miles laughed at his friend's malicious promise. He made one to himself as well, albeit with a more professional goal. "I'm gonna catch them, Gary. Whatever it takes, no matter what, I'm gonna bring them all in. Tarlini, the hedgehog, The Hooligans, all of them."

Gareth looked at Miles, surprised at his invigorated determination. "Whoa, Miles, what's with this newfound fire, huh?" Then he smirked. "It wouldn't have anything to do with the vixen that kicked your ass, right?" He burst out laughing when he saw Miles' incensed reaction.

"Fuck you." Miles growled as he turned back to the road. That only made the squirrel laugh even harder.

"Honestly, Miles, that was a real pussy move, letting a girl walk all over you like that. Kind of makes me wonder who the more dominant one was between you and Fiona." He continued to push Miles' buttons. "Did she often give you the Bob Barker treatment, did she tie you to the bed and flog you when you were having sex or did she-"

He did not get far in his jibes, for a sharp backhand to his cheek shut him up. He rubbed his cheek but still kept on chuckling.

Silence returned to the car. That is, until Miles decided to break it once more. "You know, there's one thing I can't understand."

Gareth moved his jaw around, as if he was certain Miles' slap broke it. "What's that?"

"The sniper rifle The Hooligans were using. It was already busted."

Gareth shrugged. "Maybe they were going to get it fixed."

Miles scoffed at the squirrel's opinion. "Really, Gary?"

Gareth raised his hands. "Hey, I'm not psychic, so I don't know. And neither do you, so stop acting like a supercilious smartass."

"OK, you got me." Miles smiled his first genuine smile of the day. His little banters with Gary were one of the vertebrae that made the backbone of their friendship. Of course, there were times when the banter would escalate into actual snarky remarks about the other's personal life and one would have to slap the sense into the other. But it was always fun to get a reaction from the other.

After another bout of silence, Miles spoke again. "It had some parts missing, the rifle. It had no hammer and spring."

Gareth knew what he was talking about and he sighed in agitation. "Look, Miles, as much as I want to catch these guys, I don't like to think about work on a weekend. So why don't we just go somewhere and relax, huh? I'm starting to get a cramp from sitting for too long." He wiggled around in his chair to emphasize his point.

Miles huffed but technically, Gareth was right. He was starting to get a cramp. "Fine. I'll take us to Riverside."

 **-X-X-X-**

Before Fiona left for Mobotropolis, she had made a plan to scour the entire city for any sign of Miles. It seemed like an easy enough idea. But now, she found out the hard way that it was way tougher than she thought.

She realized, for the first time, how big the city had actually gotten over the years. This was the equivalent of looking for a needle in a haystack, regardless of the fact that the needle could easily be identified.

Fiona checked the time on her phone and saw that it had been two hours since she had arrived in the city. Two hours looking for an orange, two tailed fox. She needed a break.

She ventured into a park that she did not even know the name of, but it had a river running on one side of it. She sat down on a park bench and opened her collar to let some cool air in. Fiona was glad that she had chosen to wear anti-perspiring perfume so she would not sweat.

"Where are you, Miles?" She asked herself.

After thirty minutes of sitting and relaxing her muscles, she decided to continue her search. The vixen decided to use the bridge that spanned the Mobotropolis River. Why, she did not know.

If only she did.

 **-X-X-X-**

"Well, this park is definitely more beautiful than Maximilian's. Also, there's no one around trying to kill us." Gareth commented. He and Miles were standing on the pedestrian bridge that spanned the Mobotropolis River, casually throwing pebbles into the water.

The squirrel flicked a small pebble in and then turned to look at Miles, who had that same distant look on his face. Of late, he had been displaying that look more often than usual. Gareth instantly knew what he was thinking about.

Gareth heaved a sigh. "Alright, Miles, I know Fiona has some part deep in your heart that will never be replaced but you need to move on, man. All this depression is not good for the body."

"I tried that once with Cream and it didn't work out. I'm sorry, dude, but Fiona belongs in a special part of my heart. And no girl will EVER take her place." Miles said that last part with enough vehemence to drive the point home.

"And this is why I don't fall in love." Gareth sighed in resignation. "Whilst you're busy wallowing in your heartsick memories, I have to call the insurance company." He pulled out his phone and dialed a number, then walked a good distance away to get some privacy.

Miles hurled another rock into the river and ran his hand through his hair. Maybe Gary was right. Maybe it was time to get a move on in life and forget about the past. He certainly did not have a lot of good memories about his past. Yeah, maybe that would…

No! Of all the things that happened back then, Fiona was the best. And he could not just let her go like an obsolete blanket. He would hold on to those memories, cherish them for as long as he lived.

Miles decided he had had enough of standing on the bridge. He pulled out his phone to send a quick text to Gareth, whilst walking towards the bridge's end.

He could not see where he was going, for he bumped into someone, dropping his phone and the other person in the process.

"I'm so sorry, I couldn't see where I was go-" Miles stopped mid-apology when he gazed at the vixen he had just floored. At first, she had her eyes closed, but when she opened them, Miles looked deep into the sky blue eyes of the vixen he fell in love with six years ago.

"Fiona?"

 **-X-X-X-**

"Miles?" Fiona could not believe it. Just a few minutes ago, she was beginning to lose hope in finding Miles, yet here he was standing right there in front of her. At first, she thought it was just another fox but the moment he said her name and she noticed the wagging two tails behind him, she had no doubt that _this was him._

Before she knew it, she was being pulled to her feet and was enveloped in a constrictor's hug, which she returned with equal fervor.

"This isn't a dream. Please tell me this isn't a dream." She whispered.

Miles found himself laughing. "Really? If you wanna be sure it's not a dream…" he pulled her back momentarily and gently lifted her chin with his fingers. "…kiss me and hope you don't wake up."

Fiona smirked. Yep, this was her Miles. "Oh, really now?" She leaned in closer, her lips mere millimeters away from his own.

"Unbelievable dickheads!" Came an agitated yell from just behind Miles. He turned around and saw a raging squirrel standing there, looking at his phone. "I can't believe they said they won't-" Gareth stopped mid-tirade when he noticed his partner standing there, holding… he rubbed his eyes. A girl?

"Whoa, Miles." Gareth's look of surprise quickly evaporated and in its place was a sly smirk; the same smirk he used when he wanted to woo a girl into his bed. "Who's your friend over here?"

Miles brought her forward to introduce. "Gareth, I would like to meet Fiona."

"Sup?" Gareth still had his smirk on his face. "Name's Gareth Roberts. But you can call me 'Gary.'" He offered a hand.

Fiona shook it. "I'm Fiona Fox, Miles' girlfriend."

That statement almost made Miles' knees go weak but instead, it put a goofy grin on his face.

Gareth still had not lost his smirk. "Right. Girlfriend. You know, he had only just started talking about you last week. But then, as I learned, you haven't seen each other for six years, right?"

"Yeah…" Fiona answered.

"So you can't tell me that during all those years, you have just been sitting idle whenever the 'urges' hit you." Gareth said, doing air quotes. "Coz Miles here certainly wasn't idle. You catching my drift?"

Miles' quick perception quickly caught on to where Gareth was going with this. He quickly interjected, lest the squirrel reveals more details. "OK now, before Gary here says something he will eventually regret, you wanna go do something else, Fiona?"

Fiona easily caught the meaning behind Gareth's words but chose to keep it to herself for now. She would chew Miles up about it later. "Sure. There's a lot we have to catch up on."

They joined hands and started walking away, leaving Gareth standing there. "Hey! How will I get home?" He asked indignantly.

Miles called back over his shoulder. "With a cab."

 **-X-X-X-**

"So what was Gareth talking about when he said 'you weren't idle'?" Fiona asked. It was nightfall and they were parked on the outskirts of the city, near a small lake, sitting on the hood of Miles' Audi. Miles had picked the spot, saying it had a romantic backdrop to it. So far, they had gotten into the romantic swing of things. Until Fiona asked that question.

Miles knew he had to come clean. He could not keep the truth bottled in for so long. "After the war and when I started high school… I met this girl." He paused and glanced at Fiona, thinking she would get angry and snap at him immediately. She stayed quiet, so he continued. "I took Gary's advice and we started dating, one thing led to another and…" He could not bear to look Fiona in the eyes as he elaborated the story.

"You had sex with her, right?" Fiona stated bluntly.

The way she said it stung, as if she had already slapped him. "Yeah. I thought… I would never see you again and that moving on was the best way to get over the grief of losing you. But I was wrong." He dared look at her now. Her face was still impassive, expressionless. "It turns out loving her was never the same as loving you. She just couldn't… ignite the fire in me the same way you do. So I broke up with her." He reached for her hand, hoping that she did not pull away.

She didn't and he took that as a good sign. Fiona just reclined so that her head rested just below the wipers. "That wasn't so bad now, was it?"

A wave of relief washed over Miles. "So, you're not mad?" He got down next to her.

"Oh, I _am_ mad. Furious even, that you would cheat on me." It was hard to believe that since she was smiling when she said it.

"Wait. So _you_ never slept with anyone for six years?" Miles asked, astonished.

Fiona shook her head. "No. Despite the numerous times I've been hit on, I'll only spread my legs for you."

Miles was taken aback by her revelation but her last sentence made his insides tingle. He was inwardly proud of her that she could be able to restrain herself for so long, unlike him. He truly felt like an ass. "I'm so sorry, Fiona."

"I know you are. And I _will_ make you sorry." Fiona had a mischievous smirk on her face. "But for now, I have six years' worth of kisses waiting for you."

Miles needed no second invitation as he cupped Fiona's face and slowly brought his lips to hers. It was a tender kiss and that was how he liked to start, slow and delicate, despite the fact that it had been so long. Then he tilted his head to one side and opened his mouth slightly. Fiona followed suit and their tongues met. The kiss was slowly starting to get heated and both foxes could feel it. That was when Miles' hand started to snake its way to Fiona's waist, slowly caressing her waist, making its way up…

It was Fiona who pulled away first. She smiled at Miles' confused and slightly dazed look. "What? You wanna do it here? Or will you take me to your apartment?" She chided him.

"Oh! Yeah." Miles chuckled sheepishly as he realized the situation. They could not just rip each other's clothes off right there, no matter how secluded the area. They needed to go someplace more private.

 **-X-X-X-**

The moment Miles slammed his apartment door shut, Fiona was quickly on him, smashing her lips against his. He returned the kiss with equal passion as she wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist.

Miles was thankful that his door had an auto-lock once it was shut, meaning it could only be opened from the inside. He put his hands under Fiona's butt to keep her from sliding off as they kissed, putting six years of pent up frustration into that one moment. But it would not end there. They wanted more.

With Fiona still on him and their lips not breaking contact, Miles staggered to his bedroom and gently laid Fiona on the bed, kicking off his shoes and getting on top of her as they once again joined lips, tongues battling for dominance.

Eventually, Fiona had had enough and she flipped them over so that she was on top, straddling him. She grabbed his t-shirt and pulled it over his head, marveling at the sight of his exposed muscles. She slowly raked her fingers down his chest and abs. He had definitely grown in the past six years. _I wonder how he has grown down there_ , she thought mischievously. Well, since she was sitting atop his nether regions, she could definitely _feel_ how big he was. But she needed to _see._

Miles, meanwhile, busied himself with unbuttoning her shirt and opening it up. He gazed at her breasts, still hidden in her bra. But he could still touch and he indulged himself, touching, squeezing and caressing. Fiona shrugged her shirt off and reached behind her back to unclasp her bra and then throwing it off. Miles started to pinch her nipples, sending waves of pleasure coursing through her body. She threw her head back and moaned, as if they had already started the real thing. But that was Miles, her boyfriend, and he knew just where to touch to turn her on.

But she snapped out of it. She did not have time for foreplay. With fingers trembling in anticipation, Fiona started to unbuckle Miles' belt. She finally got it loose and unzipped his fly, just above the telltale tent. She pulled his pants down, together with his boxers, finally freeing his dick out of the constricting garments.

She gasped inwardly. It was definitely bigger than before. But she did not seem to mind. She slid off his legs momentarily to kick off her own shoes and pull down her own jeans and panties. Now she was equally naked as him.

Miles' breath caught as he gazed hungrily at Fiona's fully exposed body. Her figure was wider than before. His manhood throbbed at the mere sight of that glistening spot in between her legs.

Fiona crawled back onto the bed and straddled him once more. She grabbed his twitching member and stroked it lightly. "Wow, someone sure can't wait to get started." She grinned mischievously when Miles bucked into her hand. She leaned down for one final kiss as she tried to position him above her pussy.

But Miles took the opportunity to flip them over so that he was topside. As much as he wanted to get it started, he also wanted to be the one dominating their love session. "You're not the only one." He said with a smirk of his own. He positioned himself over her entrance and the tip slightly parted her moist lips.

Fiona wrapped her arms around his neck. "Take me, Miles." She whispered seductively into his ear.

He needed no second invitation as he pushed the rest of his dick into her. He looked into her eyes and saw her gazing right back at him, the slightest of gasps escaping her mouth as the rest of him entered her. Soon, his whole member was buried in her pussy. He then began with deep, slow thrusts. He could feel her sick walls clamping on him as the Fiona's hands went to the back of his neck and she pulled him down for a kiss.

Miles increased the speed of his thrusting and he moved his lips to Fiona's neck, where he started to lightly kiss and bite. That only made her moan some more and she caressed his head and wrapped her legs around his waist.

"Harder." She moaned.

Miles obliged and increased his pace some more, so much so that the bed started to squeak. Fiona threw her head back and her moans got louder. She started moving her hips in sync with his thrusting to increase the pleasure. They were both in heaven and they wanted the euphoric feeling they felt to never last.

Unfortunately, it had to.

Fiona felt her release coming, punctuated by her loud moans, which now turned into screams of pleasure. When her orgasm finally hit, it was shattering. Her whole body shook as waves of raw pleasure washed all over her and her juices leaked out of her pussy.

After Fiona had her orgasm, Miles could also feel his coming in. The repeated contractions of her walls around his dick quickly sent him over the edge. But despite the pleasurable feeling, he knew he could not release inside her. So he quickly pulled out at the last moment and released his seed onto the sheets.

Both foxes were breathing heavily after their first love session in six years. Miles got off Fiona and laid beside her, pulling her close as they engaged in pillow talk.

"That was amazing." Fiona sighed, looking into her lover's deep blue eyes. She was breathing heavily and her body was coated in a thin layer of sweat.

"I think that's an understatement." Miles returned with a grin. "It was way better than all our previous love sessions. But your pussy is tighter than before."

When Fiona was sure she had recovered her strength, she straddled Miles and whispered seductively in his ear. "Wanna loosen it up some more?"

"Did you even have to ask?" Miles smirked before pulling Fiona down for a deep kiss.

 **-X-X-X-**

 **A/N: Well, that was fun writing. My first update in this new year. Anyways, I plan to finish this story before June. Before I sign off, a shout out:**

 **Thank you Ultimate CCC. Your last review loosely inspired this chapter.**

 **Read and enjoy.**

 **J.W.H. 10**


	13. Chapter 13

She wanted to stay like that for a little longer. To stay skin to skin with the fox that she loved until they both woke up. But Fiona knew that just would not happen. Begrudgingly, she opened her eyes and was met with the sleeping face of Miles. He had a smile of satisfaction on his face and his nose twitched in a cute way as he breathed. As much as she wanted to, the vixen knew that she could not spend the whole night there. She had to get back, lest she get Scourge suspicious.

Fiona slowly disentangled herself from Miles' loving grip. He groaned a bit but did not wake up. She took her pillow and moved it closer to him and his seeking arms wasted no time in cradling it and pulling it against him. Fiona then swung her legs over and tried to stand but she found that her legs were a bit shaky from the night's lovemaking.

They had done it four more times after the first time in different positions. Fiona could barely move after that and had happily fallen asleep in her lover's arms, her body finally experiencing the full sexual bliss it had been craving for the past six years.

She looked around the dark room for her clothes, her night vision coming in handy there. One by one, she found them and got dressed. The vixen then gazed back at Miles. His mouth was now hanging open and she could just catch the gleam of his fangs in the dim moonlight. It ached her heart to just leave him like that. She had to at least let him know that this was not the last time, that she was not disappearing again.

Searching his nightstand drawers, Fiona found a notepad and a pen. She scribbled down a note , tore it out and placed it on the nightstand. Then, with a heavy sigh, she leaned towards Miles and gave him a soft kiss on his cheek. She could have whispered "I love you" in his ear but she did not want to push her luck. She slowly headed toward the door and opened it. She gave the sleeping fox one last loving gaze before walking out and gently closing the door.

 **-X-X-X-**

Fiona arrived back at the base and was greeted by an unusual quiet. Of course that made sense, considering it was still early morning. She tip-toed her way through the lab and was just about to make her way to her room.

"Well, you've been busy."

The vixen almost jumped out of her skin had she not already been used to his behaviour. She turned around and stared at the source of the voice. "And you've been there how long?"

Scourge casually walked towards her. "I couldn't sleep."

"Aww. Was the unsentimental, cold hedgehog worried about me?" Fiona asked in a voice dripping with sarcasm.

Scourge chuckled. "No. I could barely contain my excitement." He took another step towards the vixen.

"E- Excitement?" Fiona asked as her legs started to move by themselves, making her move backwards. "What excitement?"

In a flash, Scourge closed the distance between them so that he was standing right in front of her. He donned a triumphant grin and his eyes had a certain hungry twinkle.

"We've completed Phase one of Project Cerberus." He announced.

Fiona blinked once. "Ph- phase one is complete? Already?" She hoped Scourge would mistake her stammering for surprise at the revelation.

"Yeah. We just completed it last night. Stole enough steel to build all three ships. You sound surprised." Scourge smirked. "Of course, I completely expect that kind of reaction from you, considering you were out all night." The hedgehog's face then grew serious. "Where were you, by the way?"

Fiona already had an answer made up. "I spent the night at a motel." She answered simply and bluntly.

Scourge stared at her face long and hard but then shrugged. "Anyway, go freshen up. The others will be arriving shortly."

With that, Scourge zoomed out of the room.

Fiona breathed a huge sigh of relief. Scourge knew nothing of her escapades. Speaking of her escapades, she was now starting to feel sticky. A nice long shower was really called for. The vixen sauntered to her room and headed straight for the shower, shedding her clothes as she went.

 **-X-X-X-**

Miles stirred and opened his ocean blue eyes and was immediately assaulted by the sun's bright light. He screwed them shut and groaned. This was not the kind of wake up he had expected.

He rolled over in his bed and faced the other way, expecting to see a sleeping, naked vixen.

Fiona was not there.

Miles frowned and sat up in the bed. "Fiona?" He called out and received no answer. "Fiona?!" Still, no answer. Maybe she was somewhere in the apartment. He was about to go look for her, when he noticed a small piece of paper on the nightstand. He unfolded it and read the message that was scribbled inside:

 _Miles,  
Sorry I had to leave so suddenly but I have an urgent meeting with my boss that I just can't be late for. But I'll be back soon, I promise.  
I Love you.  
Fiona  
P.S. I'm still gonna punish you for cheating on me ;-)_

Miles' eyes went blank when he finished reading. Just as mysteriously as she had appeared, Fiona was gone once again. But on the Brightside, this time there was a promise that she would be back. But when? The note said "soon" but that was not a reassuring guarantee. The fox sighed and flopped back into bed. He skimmed the note one last time.

Fiona said that she had a meeting with her boss. Which meant that she was employed but in the joy of their reunion, it had not crossed Miles' mind to ask what her occupation was. It did not matter, though. _It's probably something boring,_ he thought.

He was interrupted from his thoughts by a knock from his door. Remembering that he was still naked, he threw on some pants, disregarding the shirt. He went to the door and answered it, not bothering to check the peephole.

There stood Gareth, all dressed up for work. Miles' eyes widened. Usually, he was always the early bird, with him having to go to Gareth's apartment to drag him out of bed but on this day, the tables had turned. There he was, standing without a shirt, sticky from sex and in desperate need of a shower.

Gareth noticed his friend's disheveled state. He raised his hand with the index finger raised. "Red, sleepy eyes, answering the door wearing nothing but pants and..." he stepped closer to the fox and took a breath. "You stink of sweat and women's perfume." A smirk appeared on the squirrel's face. "You and Fiona made the bed rock, didn't you?!"

Miles merely rolled his eyes. "Jeez, what was your first clue?"

Gareth whooped. "Well, well, look who finally grew his dick back!"

"Seriously, dude?" Miles have his partner an indignant glance as he stepped aside to let him enter. Then he went back to his room. "Just give me a few minutes to shower."

"Aren't you and Fiona gonna shower together?" Gareth suggested with a wink.

Miles sighed when Gareth mentioned her. "Fiona's gone."

The squirrel was not really surprised. "Really? So it was just like a one night stand then? Have sex, go your separate ways."

Miles scoffed. "Gary, she's my girlfriend, not a hooker."

That statement made Gareth laugh. "So? She's a girl and girls play naive boys like you. I'm guessing that, apart from an empty bed, you also woke up to an empty wallet, fridge, missing car keys and a cleaned out bank account."

Miles only growled in disgust. He approached the squirrel menacingly. "Don't you dare compare her to Lisa."

At the mention of the name, Gareth's smile dropped and his eyes glazed over, no longer acknowledging the fox's presence. He sighed deeply as he clenched a fist. "I never wanted to hear that name again."

"You forced me to say it." Miles countered but he knew that he had struck a nerve there. He decided to back out of the conversation. "Look, I'm gonna go take a shower and we forget this conversation ever happened, OK?"

Gareth did not reply, but just sat down and stared off into space. Miles decided not to waste any more time and went to the bathroom. For five minutes, the squirrel did not do anything. Then he suddenly let out a scream of rage. It did not matter to him what Miles or his neighbours would think. But at the end of it all, he felt kind of better.

 **-X-X-X-**

"So, whilst you and Fiona were soiling the sheets last night, our new friends got busy again." Gareth explained as Miles drove them to HQ. So far, the squirrel had held his tongue in hounding him for details of his sexual encounter last night.

Miles glanced at his partner. "What did they steal this time?"

Gareth shrugged. "Just more steel. From two other steel factories west of the city."

"And the guards there?" Miles asked although he had a pretty good idea what happened to them.

"They were all killed."

"So, no witnesses then. Great" Miles said sarcastically. Clearly this green hedgehog had a certain merciless brutality about him. He did not wish to keep his victims alive, opting to kill them on the spot. It just made him want to bring him to justice as soon as possible.

"Forensics is already there trying to gather some evidence. So far, they've found throwing knives, bullet casings and dead bodies." Gareth stated as he reclined in his chair. "And before you ask, no, the knives don't have any fingerprints on them."

Soon, they reached HQ and entered the building. On the way up to their floor Miles decided to compliment Gareth. "Wow, I'm really proud of you, Gary. Usually I'm the first one to hear information about our cases."

Gareth nodded smugly. "Role reversal, Miles. Now, I'm the one who has to force you out of bed all because you slept in, courtesy of the pussy." His grin widened. "So, do tell. How was she?"

Miles had been expecting this from Gareth. "None of your business." He replied dismissively.

Gareth, however, was having none of it. "Come on, Miles. It's totally normal for guys to talk about stuff like this."

Miles made his way to his office, with the squirrel in close pursuit. "But that doesn't mean they _always_ have to talk about it."

"Your first lay since high school and you don't wanna talk about it? The lame, old, boring Miles Prower is back." And with that, Gareth turned and left Miles' office.

Miles just sat down in his chair and smiled to himself as memories of last night flashed through his head: Fiona's multiple expressions when he kissed, penetrated and brought her sexual release. Her screams when he made her cum. The feel of her soft but sizeable breasts and her luscious figure.

He snapped out of his dirty thoughts. That was yesterday. Now, he had some work to do.

 **-X-X-X-**

Fiona entered the main room, which was already packed with the other crime lords and Scourge's team. The hedgehog himself had yet to arrive, so the group took the time to know each other better, talking about their criminal activities and whatever. Fiona took a seat next to a human girl dressed all in black; a member of the Silent Shadows, no doubt. She was currently occupied in sharpening a throwing knife. She had jet black hair and her brown eyes angled upwards slightly.

This was the first time that Fiona had seen her here. She decided to make conversation. "I've never really seen you here before."

The girl turned her stoic gaze to the vixen. "That's because it's my first time here." She answered simply and then returned to her knife sharpening.

Fiona decided to break the ice even further. In her own snarky way. "You know, just because you're called the 'Silent Shadows' doesn't mean you actually have to be _silent_."

The girl stopped her sharpening and eyed Fiona, who held her gaze. "Silence is one of the Silent Shadows' most defining traits."

Fiona resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Yeah, I got that. But does that mean you have to shut yourself out like a scared little snail?"

The girl huffed. "Well, do you see anyone in here worth talking to?"

Fiona cast a glance around the room. She cringed her face in disgust when she saw Nack huddled with Lightning, Simian and his fellow Hooligans as they laughed at something the weasel said. "Alright, I see your point." The girl nodded, finished sharpening her knife and then resorted to just twirling it on her finger, clearly in an attempt to end the conversation. The vixen, however, was having none of it. "You know, you can talk to me."

"Is my body language not making it clear?" The girl said without even glancing at Fiona. "I don't want to talk."

Fiona then scoffed. "You're acting like an ass."

She paused and faced the vixen. "Excuse me?" She tightened her grip on her weapon.

"Did I mumble?" Fiona retorted, her stare unwavering.

The girl glared at Fiona, who held it well. Then the faintest of smiles graced her red lips. "You've got a tough girl spunk about you, vixen. I respect that."

"Yeah, I know." Fiona replied. "And my name's Fiona."

The girl slowly nodded and with a practised twirl, the knife disappeared in a hidden pocket. She extended her hand. "Nika."

Fiona shook it. "That's a nice name."

"Thank you. It means 'victory'." For the first time that day, Nika broke into a genuine smile.

"So, what brings you here today, Nika?" Fiona asked.

"My brother brought me." Nika said, pointing.

Fiona followed her finger and saw that she was pointing to none other than Sato. "Sato's your brother?"

Nika nodded. "Yes."

 _That explains the huge family resemblance_ , Fiona thought. Now that she mentioned it, she saw an almost identical look between Sato and Nika: same pale skin, brown eyes, black hair and stoic stare.

She decided to prod Nika some more. "Can I ask you something... I don't know, personal?"

Nika shrugged. "Maybe I'll answer."

"Did you always want... a life like this? You know, living a life of crime?"

Nika sighed. "It certainly was not by choice. Before, Sato and I had always dreamed of opening our own dojo. But there were certain procedures we had to go through first: Finding land, buying land, building the dojo... you get it. We definitely didn't have the money for all that. One day, Sato comes in and says that he had taken care of everything. He takes me to a shady part in town and shows me a vacant building. I asked him how he managed that and... that was when he revealed how."

"How did he purchase it?" Fiona asked.

Nika took a shaky breath before she continued. "He didn't purchase it. He told me that the owner said we could move in for free on one condition: that we... kill someone."

Fiona almost gasped; if she was not already familiar with such situations. "And you accepted?"

Nika closed her eyes tightly. "No. Sato did. I warned him that it was wrong, that our martial arts skills were not to be abused like that. But he did not listen." She paused to moisturise her lips. "In the end, Sato did it. The next day, he came home, packed up our belongings and moved us to the building and we opened the dojo."

"So Sato killed someone and you moved into the Building. Shouldn't it all have ended there?" The vixen inquired. She had become so enraptured in the girl's backstory, she felt that there was more to it.

"Unfortunately, it did not. I feared that taking a life awoke a certain darkness inside Sato. He kept on accepting secret assassination missions from different criminals. That earned him the nickname 'The Silent Shadow', a name, he later used for the dojo."

"But how did you get involved?"

"When I found out what he was doing, he explained to me that it was the best way to make some extra money. I strongly disagreed with him but he kept on doing it anyway." Nika closed her eyes and turned her head away, as if in shame. "Eventually, I succumbed."

Fiona put her hands to her mouth. She may have just met Nika but she could already tell that she was a strong willed woman. How could she have fallen to such deplorable depths so easily?"

Nika continued. "Pretty soon, we started building an army."

Fiona's ears perked up. "An army?"

Nika nodded. "Yes. Remember I told you the dojo was located in a shady part of town. That meant bad people often frequented the dojo. We were able to train them as our own personal followers. Eventually, the dojo became a training hall for assassins. Thus, the Silent Shadows were born."

Fiona was entranced by Nika's story. Who knew that a mere dream of wanting to open a dojo would culminate into assassinations and the subsequent birth of a criminal organization? She felt that Nika completely contradicted the meaning of her name. It meant "victory" but the vixen was sure that life had defeated the girl.

Nika turned to her. "So that's my whole story of how I sank to these morose levels. What about you? Even I can tell there's more to you than a life of crime."

"Well..." Fiona turned her gaze away and stared off into space. "Mine's a little complicated."

"Try me." Nika prodded."I promise I won't laugh or ridicule you. Come on."

Fiona knew it would be unfair to keep her story hidden from Nika, especially after the girl had opened up so willingly about hers. "OK."

But before she could begin, a door swung open and Scourge walked in.

Fiona had completely forgotten about him. Deep in conversation with Nika, she had even forgotten why they were there in the first place but now it all came back just as easily. She turned to the human girl. "I'll tell you later, OK?"

Nika nodded. "OK."

 **-X-X-X-**

Without a care in the world, Scourge swaggered into the room where all the crime lords and his team were gathered. He made straight for the large monitor and stood in front of it. He addressed the now quiet room. "Gentlemen, I am pleased to announce to you all that Phase One of Project Cerberus has been completed."

The gathered group did not know whether to applaud the revelation or shout out a "hurrah" so instead, they just stayed quiet.

Scourge continued. "We have now acquired enough steel to construct the ships. What we now require is the manpower to take care of that."

"Holds on, now, Scourge." Nack shouted whilst rising from his seat. "You's didn't say nothing about us having to build no ships."

"I was getting to that." Scourge answered calmly but deep down, he was suppressing an angry impulse. "The thing is, we don't really need man or Mobian to build the ships." He turned to Barry. "If you would show them, Barry."

"R- Right." The mouse jumped and quickly set to work typing on a keyboard. A few seconds later, a picture appeared on the giant monitor. It was a picture of a robot.

"Construction drones." Scourge explained. "They were built as the next level of construction. After the fall of Robotnick, these drones were built to rebuild the city in record time. These babies can build a 1300ft tall skyscraper in less than two weeks and can work non-stop."

"So do you's have them?" Nack asked.

Scourge growled and shook his head. "No. After the city was rebuilt, the drones were decommissioned and are now collecting dust at this warehouse." A picture of said warehouse appeared on the screen. "That's where you're going tonight."

Nack groaned in frustration. "That was kinda uncalled for. Can't you's just tell Nerdy Boy over there to build the fucking-"

It all happened so fast; well it was fast to everyone but to Scourge it was all in slow motion. He whipped out a Bowie knife from his jacket pocket and threw it straight at the weasel. Then he idly watched as the blade sailed through the air, heading straight for Nack's face. When it was about a foot from impact, Scourge darted from the stage, zig-zagged his way past the throng and caught the knife, the tip mere centimetres from piercing Nack's eye.

Nack stopped talking when he saw Scourge suddenly appear in front of him holding a knife to his face. He jumped back in shock and in the process, tripped over his own chair and fell flat on the ground.

Scourge stared balefully at the weasel. "Next time, I won't bother catching it. So do yourself a favour and HOLD YOUR FUCKING TONGUE!" He turned to the others. "Any other stupid questions?" He was met with an expected silence. "Good." He walked back to the stage. "Gear up. Tonight's mission is the acquisition of those robots. Afterwards, Project Cerberus moves to Phase Two."

 **-X-X-X-**

It had been a very frustrating day for Miles. It was bad enough he woke up to an empty bed but now, he was getting nowhere in trying to figure out the criminals' next move. So far, he was only coming to the conclusion that they were stealing metal. He did not even know what they were going to use the steel for. With a sigh, the fox ran his hand through his hair and cracked his stiff joints. That was why he hated being in the office: the stiff bones and mind numbing boredom. It was the reason he had refused to apply for a white collar job and instead opted to become a B.R.U.T.E. Force agent: to always be on his feet, chasing bad guys, feeling the rush. It was a passion that was awoken in him the day he became a Freedom Fighter.

Gareth opened the door and poked his head inside Miles' office. "You know, Miles, I've been thinking."

Miles exhaled through his nose as he stared at the ceiling. "About beer or sex?" he retorted without looking at the squirrel.

Gareth laughed sarcastically. "As if you're good at any one of those. Anyways, we believe these guys want to use the steel to build something, right?"

"Right."

"So, won't they need someone or something to help with the building?" Gareth suggested.

"Like what?"

Gareth pulled out his phone. "I was doing some research and came across this." He handed his phone over to Miles.

Miles look at the picture disinterestedly. It was a picture of a construction drone. "Gary, these drones were decommissioned a long time ago."

"But they were never destroyed." The squirrel countered.

Miles sat up straight in his seat. "How do you know?"

Gareth took the moment to poke fun at Miles. "I thought you were the smart one. These drones cost tens of millions of rings to manufacture. They sure as hell can't be destroyed but rather can be kept in a company warehouse."

Miles stood up from his seat, knocking the chair over. "Gary, you're a genius!"

Gareth dramatically clutched his chest. "Aww that warms my heart, Miles. I wish I could record you saying that."

In response, Miles grabbed Gareth's hand and pulled him out the door with him. "Come on, let's go."

"What, where are we going?" The squirrel asked, perplexed.

"The one who built those drones is an old friend of mine." Miles explained. "Hopefully he can take us to the warehouse before the crooks get there." He pressed the "down" button on the elevator. When it finally opened, the fox turned to his partner. "Oh, and one more thing you should know. He's a little sensitive about his weight so keep the fat jokes to an absolute no, OK?"

Gareth merely smirked. "You know me all too well, Miles."

 **-X-X-X-**

 **A/N: A thousand apologies that I have taken so long to update this story. College has been a bitch lately and has definitely eaten away at my free time. As a result, I won't be updating as regularly as before. Anyways, let me know what you think about the chapter. I especially enjoyed writing Nika's backstory and I hope to expand her further. Please read and enjoy.**

 **J.W.H. 10**


	14. Chapter 14

It was late evening when Miles ad Gareth pulled up next to a very tall skyscraper. "OK, this is where he works."

Gareth gazed up in awe at the large office building. "Your fat friend works at Tyrannis* Technologies?"

Miles nodded. "Yeah. And what did I say about the fat jokes?"

The squirrel shrugged nonchalantly. "Relax, Miles. He's not out here to hear me, is he?"

Miles scoffed in annoyance and entered the building, followed by his partner. The lobby was spacious and richly decorated, clearly showcasing the company's vast wealth. He walked right up to the receptionist, a woman who looked to be in her late twenties. She was idly sitting at the desk, texting on her phone.

Miles cleared his throat to get her attention. She put her phone away and acknowledged the fox with a dismissive stare.

"Can I help you?" She asked, almost mechanically, like a robot.

"Yeah. We're here to see Rotor Walrus." Miles replied.

The receptionist slowly nodded and casually reached for the phone on her desk. "Can I know who is asking to see him?"

"Miles Prower."

She pressed a button. "Mr. Walrus, there's a Miles Prower here to see you."

The receptionist cringed at the loud, zealous response from the other end, like a Reverend. "Miles Prower?! Send him up! Send him up immediately!"

She pointed to the elevator. "He's on the 90th floor. His office has his name on it." Then she took out her cell phone and resumed texting on it.

"Thanks." Miles said, then he and Gareth walked to the elevator and he pressed the "up" button.

As they waited for it to descend, Gareth spoke up. "So, your friend is a walrus, huh?"

"No, his surname just happens to be 'walrus.'" Miles sarcastically replied, then got serious. "Of course, he is!"

The elevator opened and the two Mobians stepped in. Miles pressed the button labelled "90" and the elevator began its slow ascent.

"And apparently, he works afterhours. Totally typical of any fat guy who doesn't have a fun way to spend his evenings." Gareth said with condescension.

Miles scoffed. "So what, you want him to be like you?"

"No, of course not. I'm sure with the way he's so fat, he can't even have sex, let alone get a girlfriend to begin with."

Miles shook his head appalingly. "You're a conceited asshole, Gary."

Gareth grinned proudly. "Yeah, I know. And you're an uptight, cheerless fox with no sense of fun or enjoyment. You're like a retirement home."

The elevator dinged and the doors opened to the floor Rotor worked. Miles and Gareth walked past various offices until they stopped at a larger one with Rotor's name written on the door.

Miles knocked and an enthusiastic voice answered from the other end. "Come in, come in!"

The two agents entered the office. There was a table on one side littered with various machines and tools and on the other side, there was a desk littered with papers. By the desk was a chair which was occupied by a large walrus, who smiled widely when he saw the two tailed fox.

Miles smiled back. "Hey, Rotor."

"Tails! It's been a while!" Rotor exclaimed, rising from his chair and manoeuvring his way around the desk. He enveloped Miles in a hug.

Miles struggled to breathe for a bit. "Yes, it's good to see you too, man." He choked out. "Can't breathe, now."

"Oh, sorry." Rotor released Miles and then turned to the squirrel. "Who's this?"

Miles introduced him. "This is Gareth. My partner at the agency." He then gestured to Rotor. "And, Gary, this is Rotor."

The walrus held out his hand. "Pleased to meet you, Gareth."

Gary shook Rotor's hand, with a smile that was more sinister than pleasant. "Nice to meet you too, Rotund."

Rotor's smile faded for a bit. "Uh, it's ' _Rotor_ '."

"Oh, I'm sorry. A slip of the tongue." The squirrel apologized but Miles could tell it was not genuine.

Even Rotor was not fooled but he decided to drop it. "Right."

Gareth laughed. "Don't be such a downer, Robust. I'm just teasing." He clapped the walrus lightly on the back. "So, you work afterhours?"

"No, not really." The walrus replied. "I was just putting the finishing touches on my latest project. Wanna check it out?"

"Boring." Gareth fake-yawned. "See, that's the problem with you: no excitement in your life. It's no surprise that you're holed up like this in your office. You need to get out there, man. Have fun while you're still young. You're what, twenty-seven, twenty-eight, right? –although the fat wrinkles on your face tell me otherwise- then make the most of it, go out there, have fun, go to a late night party, fuck a girl— no wait, scratch that. No sex. With a belly that size, that would be mission impossible. Coz of that jiggling boulder of flesh and fat, you wouldn't be able to reach her pussy. It would just be the bellies having sex and not your organs. And, that would also be compounded by the small size of your dick, typical amongst fat people." The squirrel held out his pinkie and crooked it.

Rotor looked at Miles with an offended look. The fox quickly tried to calm him down. "Don't mind him, he means well."

The walrus huffed and tried to hold himself. "No, it's fine. I've heard worse... from better people."

Gareth intervened. "Oh, you wanna hear worse? Take a look at yourself, dude. You look like a group hug. I don't know if you're one person or a family reunion."

"Gareth, that's enough!" Miles scolded his partner. "Unless you have something useful to say, I suggest you put a cork in it." The fox then turned to Rotor. "I'm terribly sorry about his childish behaviour. I just took him off his leash and he quickly went overboard on the sugar."

For once, Rotor's face lit up with a laugh and Gareth looked offended, but he quickly had a sharp reply coming up.

"And just until last night, you had forgotten what pussy feels like." The squirrel countered.

Miles ignored him. "Anyways, I came to ask you about something." He said to Rotor.

"OK, sure. You can have a seat." The walrus gestured to the chairs opposite his desk. Miles took a seat but Gareth remained standing as he surveyed the office's layout. He walked to the large window, with the glass rising from floor to ceiling and gazed at the magnificent view of the city's skyline, which was a kaleidoscope of lights from different buildings.

The squirrel whistled. "Wow. It must be a real blast to be working for the richest person on Mobius." Those were the first words from his mouth that bore no insult.

Rotor could not help but grin. "Yeah, it's a real blast."

"The pay must also be very rewarding. A big fat paycheque for an equally big fat employee." Gareth snickered to himself and his smirk got even wider when he saw Rotor's initial smile dissolve.

"Gary, I said that's enough!" Miles growled, shooting up from his chair. "Unless you have anything important to say, you can go wait outside!"

Gareth put on a dejected look; which did not really seem genuine. "Alright, Miles. I'll hold my tongue." He turned away and whispered to himself. "For now."

Miles sat back down and turned back to Rotor. "As I was saying, I want you to tell me about one of the projects you developed for this company."

Rotor rubbed his head regretfully. "Well, I wish it were that simple, Tails. But company protocol prohibits me from just giving out that information to anybody."

Miles' face instantly started to fall into a frown.

Rotor quickly lit up. "But, what the hell? Nobody's around to stop me from talking. What project would you like to know about?"

"The one about the construction drones." Miles answered.

Rotor laughed a bit. "Tails' you know very well that constructions drones are now branded illegal. Do you want me to build you one?" He asked sarcastically.

After the fall of Robotnick, much of Mobotropolis and some other major cities of the Kingdom lay in ruins. In order to get the city back into shape as quickly as possible, Sally, who was just recently crowned Queen, had to ask for assistance from any top level engineering firms to speed up the rebuilding process. Tyrannis Technologies, the leading company in advanced technology, stepped up. Rotor had just started working there as a scientist and had proposed the idea of the construction drones, an idea which was accepted.

With the help of the drones, the city was rebuilt in no time. The citizens were so impressed, they had wanted demanded more and the company saw an opportunity to expand its business. Unfortunately, the plan had its setbacks: one, the construction drones were too expensive to make and two, they risked causing unemployment to construction companies which relied on manual labour. So Sally declared the drones illegal and Tyrannis Technologies ceased production.

Miles shook his head. "No. I want you to take us to the warehouse they're being stored at."

Rotor frowned. "Tails, you know as well as I do that we stopped making the drones."

"I'm talking about the ones you already made to rebuild the city. Those things cost a lot of money to make and I'm pretty sure you couldn't just destroy them. Obviously you would store them in one of your company warehouses, where they would just be collecting dust."

Rotor's brow furrowed and he leaned over his desk like a principal scolding a troublemaking child. "May I ask what this is all about?"

Miles felt reluctant to tell Rotor about his investigation but he knew it would be unfair for the walrus to divulge company secrets while he kept his mouth shut. "I'm sure you're well aware of the string of robberies on the steel factories this past week, right?"

Rotor nodded.

The fox continued. "I believe that they're planning to build something with that steel. But they can't do that unless they have a means of construction. Something like the construction drones."

Rotor hummed in understanding. "So you think that the robbers will go steal the drones?"

"Yes."

"OK." Rotor slowly nodded but the scepticism was still evident on his countenance. "Although I must admit that sounds a little farfetched-"

"What, you don't believe us?" Gareth spoke up, walking towards the walrus. "Now, you listen here, Roley-Poley. We're trying to make sure those robbers don't steal your precious illegal robots. And believe me when I say that when Miles has a hunch about something, he's almost never wrong."

"Yeah, I can concur with you there. After all, I've known him way longer than you." Rotor replied impassively. "So, what exactly do you want me to do?"

"We need you to take us to the warehouse." Miles stated.

"W- wha- what?" Rotor sputtered. "But that's against company rules! You guys don't even have a warrant!"

"Yeah. But only _you_ know that." Gareth quipped. "And no one else has to."

Rotor thought long about it. He knew that if he took them to the warehouse, he would be violating company rules and that would most likely get him fired. Or worse. But another side of knew that if Tails was correct in his assumption and he did nothing, then the company would most definitely lose important and expensive technology when someone could have done something about it. He sighed and went to his desk and opened a drawer. Rummaging through the contents, he fished out a key card.

"You owe me big for this, Tails." The walrus declared, pointing a finger at Miles.

"Yeah, yeah, put it on my tab." The fox said dismissively as they left the office.

 **-X-X-X-**

"Damn. Couldn't you have chosen a site closer to the city?" Gareth complained as they finally pulled up near the warehouse, which was a good distance away from the city. The squirrel had been his usual smartmouthed self from the beginning of the trip. When Rotor was getting into the car, he had aimed another quip at the walrus, commenting that he might not fit through the door. It earned him a dig in the ribs from Miles' elbow but that did not shut him up as he kept making veiled jibes at the walrus.

"Remote areas are more ideal for keeping away any unwanted pests from just waltzing onto the premises." Rotor stated. "Like you, for example."

Gareth jolted up in his seat. "Unwanted? Do you know how many girls have longingly wept my name when I-"

"Shut it, you blowhard!" Miles interjected.

The three Mobians then scanned the warehouse. All seemed quiet and OK but they could not rule out the possibility of a potential heist on the place. Maybe they were even too late, the thieves having already came and robbed the place earlier than expected.

"Where are the guards?" Miles asked.

"Probably slacking off in the guard room." Rotor replied as he opened the passenger door and got out. The two agents followed him close behind.

"There seem to be no signs of a struggle of any kind." Gareth commented. Everything seemed normal in his eyes.

"But we still need to be on our guard." Miles warned as he pulled out his Glock. Gareth did likewise.

They reached a side door with a sign written "Authorized personnel only" nailed at the top of it. A red light shone at the lock.

Rotor pulled out the key card and slid it across the card slit. The light blinked green and the automatic lock clicked.

Miles and Gareth then moved ahead of him and slowly opened the door, their weapons raised. In the semi-lit interior, they could just make out a narrow hallway, sparsely flanked by other closed doors. It led to complete darkness.

"Should have brought a flashlight." Gareth sighed.

"Why don't you use your phone's?" Rotor retorted as he pulled his phone out and switched on its flashlight. He led the way inside.

Gareth could not resist dropping another one. "You now, I'm surprised you can fit in this narrow hallway without having to walk sideways, Rotor."

"Do you ever shut your mouth?" The annoyed walrus growled. "We're trying to be quiet here."

They reached the end of the hallway, which stopped at another door. This one had no key card slot.

Miles tried the knob and the door opened easily. They found themselves in the main storage room which was filled with large crates. No doubt the drones were inside them. The fox put his gun away. "Great they're still here. We're right on time."

"See? I knew it." Rotor said. "Everything is just as it should be. And no robbers in sight." He then turned to Miles. "Thanks for almost getting me fired for nothing."

Gareth scoffed as he put his weapon away. "Oh, relax, Robust. We haven't run into anyone."

"Freeze!" Suddenly, a brighter flashlight came on, blinding their eyes.

Rotor recognized the voice. "Barney, it's me, Rotor. Put the flashlight down."

"I guess I spoke too soon." Gareth whispered.

The flashlight was slowly lowered, revealing a middle aged man in a guard's uniform. His badge had the Tyrannis Technologies symbol on it. In one hand, he held the flashlight, in the other, a Glock 20. "Mr. Walrus? What are you doing here?"

Miles almost chuckled. Mr. Walrus? That sounded a little out of place for Rotor.

"Um... I was just giving these two _scientists_ a tour of our facilities. Yeah, that's it." Rotor lamely offered.

From the look on Barney's face, it was pretty evident that he was not buying it. But he went along with it. "And can I see their company issued IDs?" He held out his hand.

Rotor tried to answer but Gareth quickly stepped in. "We've just been employed so we don't have those yet."

Barney sighed with resignation. "I'm sorry, Mr. Walrus but you now the company's protocol. And bringing unauthorized people onto company property? I'm afraid I'm going to have to report you."He turned to the two agents. "As for you two, I'll have to escort you two off the premises." He moved to grab their wrists but Miles quickly yanked his arm away.

"OK fine. We'll tell you the truth." He surrendered.

"The truth, huh? OK let's hear it." Barney crossed his arms on his chest.

Gareth gave Miles a "what the hell are you doing?" look but the fox ignored it. "You see, the truth is..."

 **-X-X-X-**

"Do you have a clear shot?" Snide asked.

Nack, who was taking aim from the sunroof of the military grade M998 Humvee they were using (courtesy of the Battle Bird Armada, who sat this one out) scoffed as he held the RPG-7 rocket launcher over his shoulder, taking aim at the warehouse's main doors. "Are you's seriously doubting my aiming skills?"

"What he meant was 'do you have a clear shot _this time?_ ' Fiona quipped. "Of course, I don't need to remind you of your last humiliating miss."

Nack stuck his head back in and lashed out. "Hey, I already told you, somebody screwed with my gun."

"Yeah, are you sure someone didn't also screw your brain up, or were you born that way?" The vixen continued her verbal attack on the weasel.

The weasel growled and briefly contemplated aiming the rocket launcher at her instead, had it not been for the fact that they were all in the same place.

"Fiona, that's enough!" Snide chided her. "You may fire when ready, Nack."

Nack bared his fangs at Fiona in a snarl and stuck his head out once more.

Fiona leaned back in her chair, a smile plastered on her face. Then she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Are you always this nice to your teammates?" It was Nika. She had been asked to come along by Fiona after the two had started a slowly budding friendship. She found Fiona to be a very fun person to be around. The vixen was funny and strong-willed and Nika felt there was still more to Fiona.

"Only the insignificant ones." Was Fiona's reply.

Nack popped his head back in. "When we're through here, I'll show you insignificant." He made a smooching sound with his lips and then went back out before Fiona could reply. Focusing once more on aiming his weapon, he soon had a lock on the doors.

The weasel started laughing maniacally. "Knock knock."

And then he pulled the trigger.

 **-X-X-X-**

"You see, the truth is-"

BOOM!

Miles did not get far in his explanation, as an explosion suddenly blew a hole in the large door.

Instinctively, he quickly took cover behind a crate and was immediately joined by Gareth, Rotor and Barney.

"You see, I warned you." The fox said, almost triumphantly, had it not been for the perilous circumstances they were in.

"Must you rub it in?" Gareth scoffed as he pulled out his weapon. Miles did likewise.

Barney stared at the agents and their weapons and then glanced at Rotor. "Scientists, huh?"

By now, every guard was on his feet and aiming his Glock at the hole in the door, waiting for the thieves to make their move.

So far, all was silent. Then there was the rumbling of an approaching engine. Headlight beams shone through the hole as the vehicle drew near. Then it suddenly burst through; an M998 Humvee ploughed through the door and into the warehouse. The guards wasted no time in opening fire but the bullets harmlessly ricocheted off the vehicle's hard body. Then it did a full 180 degree turn. As it did so, a window was rolled down and a duck poked his head through with his fists clenched.

Miles snuck a peak from his hiding spot and saw what the duck was doing. He instantly knew what was coming next. "Shit. Get back!"

Bean unfurled his fists. Bombs flew out of his hands and straight towards the hapless guards. They had never seen anything like that hence could not react fast enough. The bombs went off and those who were in close proximity were instantly incinerated.

Rotor gasped in shock when a severed hand landed right in front of him. A sick feeling emanated from his gut and he instantly felt nauseous. "Oh, I think I'm gonna puke."

Miles remembered that his friend had a weak stomach every time he saw blood. It was one of the reasons that why the walrus never went on missions back when he was a Freedom Fighter.

The fox turned to Barney and yelled over the sound of gunfire. "You need to get Rotor out of here!" He pointed to the door which they had used to get in earlier, which was just ahead. "Use that door!"

Barney nodded and moved to help Rotor to his feet. But as he did so, his head rose above the box they were hiding. A grave mistake.

The next thing they knew, the back of Barney's exploded into blood and grey matter as a bullet found its mark, showering the three Mobians in gore.

It was all too much for Rotor as he finally lost his dinner all over the floor.

After Bean's bombs went off, the explosions created a plume of dust and smoke that had the guards blinded. Nack took the opportunity to finish them off with well placed shots to their heads with his Coharie Arms CA-415.

"Excellent work, Nack." Snide complimented. "That should be all of them."

Nack grinned smugly. "How insignificant am I now, Fi-" As he spoke, he turned in the direction where Fiona was sitting but stopped when he realized that she was not there.

"Hey, where did she go?"

That was when they noticed the open passenger door.

"Never mind that." Snide said dismissively. "Call the others and tell them we've secured the warehouse."

 **-X-X-X-**

"I think we're the only ones left." Gareth whispered.

"Jeez, you think?" Miles replied with sarcasm.

Gareth peered over the crate and almost barfed at what he saw. The floor was littered with dead bodies and blood. He snuck a glance at the Humvee and saw movement. "They're getting out."

"How many do you see?" Miles asked. He could have peeked for himself but did not want to push their luck.

"I count a coyote, a weasel, polar bear, duck and... a human girl?" Gareth was surprised... and mesmerized; the girl was really pretty. The squirrel resisted the urge to wolf whistle due to their predicament. And because he was a Mobian hence did not have a shot.

Miles did the calculations in his mind. Someone was missing. "Wait. Where's the vixen?"

Gareth gave his partner a look. "Seriously, Miles? You're thinking about that now? Maybe she didn't even show up."

"Look, I know she's here." Miles said adamantly.

Rotor nudged Gareth. "What is he babbling about?"

Gareth was aghast but ignored the walrus. "Miles, don't tell me you're still vindictive for what she did to you last time."

"No, I'm not! It's about stopping these guys."

"Look around you, Miles. We're outgunned and outnumbered! We can't even call for backup coz they can't get here in time. Our best choice would be a tactical retreat."

Miles saw the logic in the squirrel's idea. Weighing up his options, he knew the odds were completely against them. Yet he wanted to soldier on all because he could not just let the bad guys get away so easily without a fight. But in these circumstances, such rash and stupid decisions were going to get him and his friends killed and he could not have that. "OK. But how do we get out of here without being seen?"

Gareth peered over the crate once more and saw that the crooks were dispersing. "They're splitting up right now. But I don't see that human girl anywh-"

"Look out!" Rotor quickly tackled Miles and Gareth to the floor. And just in time too. Two throwing knives flew out from the shadows and embedded themselves in the crate's wood, exactly where the two Mobians had been crouching.

The human girl Gareth mentioned earlier landed right in front of them. Miles quickly pulled out his Glock but she was just as quick; she threw another throwing knife with pinpoint accuracy, straight into the gun's barrel. And at the perfect time because that was when Miles pulled the trigger. When he noticed the knife in the barrel, his lightning quick reflexes had him tossing the gun away, for seconds later, it exploded; his hand would have been mangled if he still held the weapon.

Snide and the others had heard the explosion. The coyote's eyes set upon the three Mobians. "It's that two tailed fox and his friend! Kill them."

Nack and Bean went off to do the deed.

 **-X-X-X-**

Miles turned back to the girl, who now seemed to have run out of throwing knives and instead got into a fighting stance. He sprang to his feet and got into a stance as well.

Nika attacked first, sending a series of punches and kicks so fast that Miles had a hard time blocking and dodging. Eventually, she started landing hits, mostly in his sides and chest area. He tried to fight back but could not find an opening. Her attacks were coordinated and well timed. Eventually, she finished him off with a well placed kick to the chest which knocked him into a pile of boxes.

Nika stalked over his fallen form. "I thought you'd put up more of a fight." She retrieved a throwing knife stuck on a nearby crate and squatted to Miles' level, ready to deliver the killing blow.

"Freeze!"

Gareth stood behind her, aiming his Glock at the back of her head. "Step away and put your hands up."

Nika did not seem in the least bit phased. "Big mistake." With astonishing speed, she whirled around and threw the knife.

Gareth did not have any time whatsoever to react. The blade found its new home in his left shoulder. He cried out in pain as he dropped to the ground and clutched at his injury.

Miles' eyes went wide. "GARETH!" His look quickly went from surprise to rage in an instant. As soon as the girl turned back to face him, he dealt her a quick sucker punch right in her nose. He was rewarded by a waterfall of blood that erupted like a geyser from both her nostrils. The disoriented human tried to stay upright but a swift kick from the vulpine sent her sprawling.

With the girl taken care of, Miles rushed to tend to his friend, who was being tended to by Rotor. Despite the walrus' attempt to stem the blood loss, Gareth's wound was still bleeding profusely; it was taking Rotor a great effort not to puke again. But he had not bothered to take the knife out; he was wise not to, for that would have only resulted in a more rapid loss of blood.

"We have to get him out of here." Miles said as he and Rotor helped the squirrel to his feet. They headed towards the side door, with the walrus and squirrel in front.

Just as they were about to go through the door, something black landed right in front of them... with a fuse about burn out: a bomb!

The trio could only jump back but not far enough as the bomb went off. The shockwave sent them all sprawling.

Miles scrambled back to his feet and saw, to his horror, that both his friends were lying unconscious. He knew pretty well where the bomb had come from.

A snickering that was as sickening as its source could be heard. Then out of a corner, a weasel popped his head out, followed by a duck. "Well, well, lookie here. We meets again, fox." He raised his Coharie and aimed. "I'm going to enjoy this."

Miles saw Bean idly standing there. He knew that look well: discontent. An idea quickly popped into his head. "Hey, duck, are you just gonna stand there and watch him have all the glory?" The thing most criminals had in common was the bloodlust. All Miles did was appeal to Bean's desire to kill.

And the duck took the bait. "Yeah, Nack. You did it last time and fucked up! I deserve a shot."

Nack's brow furrowed. "You just killed his two friends. This is my quarry!"

"Quarry, my ass! I don't need your permission to-" Bean was abruptly silenced by a sharp kick to the back of the head. Taking his scrawny frame into account, the duck did not really look built for taking hard hits. He promptly fell to the ground, knocked out.

Nack had dropped his guard during his argument with Bean. He was caught by surprise and quickly tried to raise his Coharie but Miles was quicker. He knocked the weapon out of the weasel's grasp with a flash kick and then used his namesakes to sweep Nack's legs out from under him. The weasel landed on his back and could only stare as the fox leered over him and punched his lights out.

As Miles got to his feet, his sharp ears picked up the rumbling of an engine, which steadily got louder. Something was coming at the warehouse. Something BIG.

It arrived in the form of a large Freightliner with a bumper guard which came ploughing through the main doors. It appeared that their reinforcements had arrived.

Time to flee.

Miles turned tails and ran for the side door. He hoped that either Rotor or Gareth had regained consciousness by now or they would have to be dragged out and that would be an exercise in futility; they would all be caught before he could even move them one foot. However, when he turned to where their bodies had fallen, he was in for a surprise.

The bodies were not there.

That was probably a good sign. Maybe one or both had regained consciousness. But with no time to dwell on the subject, Miles sprinted down the corridor, not bothering to look back in case someone was following. Soon, he reached the exit, finding the door standing ajar. He pushed it open, went through and slammed it shut, hearing the _click_ of the automatic lock. But when he turned around, he was met with an even bigger surprise.

Both Gareth and Rotor were right there on the ground. Still unconscious.

How could that be? If they were both still unconscious, then how did they get outside?

He would probably get the answer soon, for Rotor had started to stir. The walrus groaned and rubbed his head.

"What the hell happened?" He groaned.

Miles quickly went straight to the point. "How did you guys get out here?"

"What?" Rotor stood up straight and surveyed his surroundings. When his senses fully returned, he could clearly see that they were outside. He turned to Miles with an incredulous look. "Did you drag us out?"

The fox shook his head. "No, I didn't."

A groan from Gareth brought them back to reality. He was bleeding and in dire need of medical assistance.

As the two carried the injured squirrel to the car, the question kept nagging at the both of them: who helped them escape the warehouse?

 **-X-X-X-**

"Whew! That was tiring." Fiona said to herself as she made her back to the warehouse' main storage room. It was exhausting work to drag two unconscious bodies along with you, especially when one of them was as fat as Rotor.

Throughout the whole trip to the warehouse, Fiona had to endure Nack's constant prattling and downright disgusting flirting attempts. She just needed to get away from him, so when they secured the warehouse, she quietly slunk away.

" _It's that two tailed fox and his friend. Kill them!"_

When Snide bellowed out those words, Fiona's heart almost stopped when she realized that her boyfriend was also here. And the odds of him leaving the place alive were pretty slim, considering he was outnumbered. Of course she knew him well enough to still defy those odds.

During the fighting, she had stayed out of sight. She kind of felt bad when she saw Miles punch Nika into a nosebleed; she had really started to like Nika. Maybe she should have gone and helped out. But then, that would mean picking a side and whatever side she picked, she might have ended up killing someone she cared about. In the end, her beloved fox found himself facing the likes of Nack and Bean. Despite the numerical disadvantage -with Rotor and Gareth unconscious and the latter also injured- she knew he could take them both on. And he never disappointed.

When their fighting had carried them out of sight, Fiona then came out of hiding to drag the two unconscious Mobians out through the side door. She had to drag them both at the same time, which was a very strenuous task. Miles would not have done it in time for she knew that the rest of her entire contingent would be arriving shortly. And then, they would all be dead.

But the vixen felt proud of herself. She regretted nothing. All she cared about was Miles' safety.

 **-X-X-X-**

Tyrannis- This is the name of a major character I plan to put in this story's sequel. As this chapter has revealed, he's very rich.

 **A/N: Well, that was something else. There were times when I had to write something, delete, rewrite, delete, repeat. Maybe I'm losing my touch. To be honest, I even doubt if this chapter appeals to you. Of course, you can let me know if it does or doesn't. Anyway, please read and enjoy.**

 **J.W.H. 10**


	15. Chapter 15

Miles and Rotor were at the hospital to see Gareth. They were being accompanied to his room by a nurse, a pretty brown cat, who was also filling them in on Gareth's condition.

"Your friend lost a lot of blood and was constantly slipping in and out of consciousness. We were forced to anaesthetize him. But the good news is we were able to stop the blood loss and managed to close up the wound. He's very lucky."

Miles sighed. "That's a relief." He was worried that the injury might be fatal or might force an amputation.

"He did, however, require a lot of stitches." The nurse continued.

Rotor leaned over to Miles and whispered. "Couldn't they have also stitched up his mouth while they were at it?"

Miles could not hold back the bark of laughter that escaped him. It caught the nurse's attention.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Prower, is there something that you find funny?" She inquired, raising an eyebrow in bemusement.

Before the fox could speak, Rotor butted in. "Well, if you must know, nurse, the patient has a rather runny mouth that no one can seem to shut up. So, I was thinking you would do us all a favour and stitch his mouth shut." The walrus snickered, joined shortly by his vulpine friend.

The cat merely rolled her eyes. "OK... if you're done being stupid, shall we proceed?"

"Trust me, nurse, when he starts talking, you're gonna wish you turned him into a scarecrow."

The nurse sighed and proceeded to walk ahead of them. They eventually reached Gareth's room and she led the way in.

There, on the bed, lay Gareth. He was still sound asleep although the anaesthetic had already worn off. An IV tube was pierced into his left arm. His injury was hidden by the hospital gown that he wore. He looked almost peaceful. Almost.

The nurse moved to his bedside and gently shook him. "Mr. Roberts?"

His answer was a groan as the squirrel squeezed his eyes and grit his teeth. "Where- where the fuck am I?"

The nurse cringed at the abrasive language.

Miles leaned into his ear and deepened his voice. "Welcome to hell."

"What?!" The squirrel shot up from his bed, eyes wide. He frantically looked around the room, supporting himself on his arms. That was a painful mistake. Searing pain shot up from his injured shoulder and spread to his arm, rendering it useless. It subsequently went limp and Gareth almost fell over.

Miles and Rotor could not hold back the laughter that burst forth.

The nurse looked at them with an annoyed expression. "That was a very dangerous thing to do. He could have torn his stitches, causing an even larger wound!" She quickly moved in to assist the patient. "Just relax, Mr. Roberts." She placed a gentle hand on his heaving chest to coax him back into a lying position.

Gareth's breathing slowly returned to normal, though it threatened to accelerate once more as soon as he laid eyes on the nurse. "How long was I out?"

Once again, the cat was beaten to the answer, this time by Rotor.

"Three months."

"What?!" The squirrel exclaimed.

The nurse gave Rotor a look and resumed tending to Gareth. "He's just joking. You've just been here a day."

Gareth breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank God. I think the fat guy has lost track of time."

The nurse ignored his quip. "I'm going to have to check your stitches. Please remove your gown."

Gareth donned a half lidded smirk. "Wow, we're going there already?"

"...from your shoulder." She finished with a look of disgust.

Gareth obliged her, his smirk ever present. He pulled on his gown at the shoulder, revealing his stitched up wound.

Miles silently gasped. Apparently the stitches really made the wound pop out. It looked even bigger than before. The edges were purple and swollen. It was so disgusting to look at that the fox had to turn away.

"The stitches will come off in a week or two. During that period, you are to reduce the usage of your arm." The nurse stated.

"What a shame. He needs both hands to pleasure himself" Rotor quipped, eliciting a chuckle from Miles.

"Shouldn't you be at a weight loss gym? Coz your belly twerks every time you move." Gareth retorted.

The cat cleared her throat in annoyance. "If you're all done acting like a bunch of immature kindergartners, I would like to continue, thank you. Now, as I was saying, Mr. Roberts, you will be prescribed with some painkillers to help ease the pain."

"Thanks. And by the way, there's no need for formalities. Mr. Roberts is my father. Call me Gareth." The squirrel corrected.

The nurse hummed as she wrote on a clipboard. It was pretty clear she was disinterested.

Gareth continued nonetheless. "So, after I recuperate, what do you say I come back and take you out for an entertaining night? And I do mean 'entertaining'." He wiggled his eyebrows.

Rotor whispered to Miles. "This is just sad."

Miles nodded. "I concur. But it's more fun to watch."

The nurse donned a smirk of her own. "Well, even if I didn't have a boyfriend, I'd still say no."

 _Fiona would have said the exact same thing,_ Miles thought.

"But your boyfriend isn't here now, is he? He doesn't need to know about us." Gareth persisted.

"There is no 'us', _Gareth._ " She said his name with a mix of scorn and condescension. "And besides, you're nothing compared to my boyfriend." She crooked her pinky finger at him and giggled. "You'll be discharged tomorrow." The nurse patted his head as if he was a child and then left the room.

Rotor and Miles could not hold back the laughter they were holding in.

"Dude, you were so pathetic."Rotor spoke in between a fit of giggles.

"And you're not fat." Gareth sarcastically retorted.

Rotor scoffed and turned to Miles. "Couldn't we have left him to die at that warehouse? Might have done the world a huge favour."

At the mention of the warehouse, the fox quickly remembered the situation. They were pinned down hard and had absolutely no chance of escaping, yet here they all were, alive and well... well alive in Gareth's case. He remembered Gareth and Rotor, both unconscious, sitting ducks in the line of fire. Yet he had found them both outside, safe... yet still unconscious. Rotor, of course, claimed to have not regained consciousness to drag Gareth and himself out. So that begged the question: how did Rotor and Gareth make it out of the warehouse if they were both unconscious?

"You know, that reminds me. How did you both manage to get out when you were still unconscious?"

Both walrus and squirrel were puzzled there. "I... I don't know." Rotor conceded.

"Maybe our guardian angels finally revealed themselves." Gareth lamely suggested.

"Then you wouldn't have a three inch hole in your shoulder now, would you?" The walrus retorted.

"Alright, guys that's enough for today." Miles intervened before they could go far. With the way the two were exchanging insults at every opportunity, it was difficult to imagine that they had just met yesterday night. It was as if they had known each other for a long time. "Rotor, why don't we let Gary rest? After all, he's had a very long day."

"I'll say." Rotor quipped as he headed for the door.

Miles was about to follow when Gareth called out to him. "Miles, wait."

The fox turned back to his partner. For once, he held a sombre expression, like a man about to deliver bad news. It was rare to see him that serious.

"I want you promise me something." Gareth said.

Something about his tone made Miles uneasy but he still went for it. "Yeah. What?"

"If I don't recuperate from this injury in time, I want you to find the bitch that did this to me. Find her and make her pay. For it must never be known that Gareth Wayne Roberts was struck down by a woman."

At the mention of the request, Miles deadpanned. For once, he actually thought that Gareth was going to take things seriously for once. But apparently a seemingly life threatening injury was not enough. The squirrel was still the same. But of course Miles knew why he had made such a request. Ever since high school, Gareth had developed a sexist attitude and would never allow a female to make him vulnerable. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes and just thought it best to give his partner the benefit of the doubt.

"Uh... yeah, sure."

Gareth smiled in his bed. "Thanks, man."

 **-X-X-X-**

It was not in the least bit surprising when Miles was called into Director Gallard's office the next day. He had been expecting the call but had not bothered to prepare a list of answers and or excuses, owing to the unpredictable nature in which the director hurled his questions. It was something he found annoying but had learned to deal with it.

"Sit down, Prower." Gallard ordered in a surprisingly calm voice. Miles hoped to keep him that way and obliged him.

For a while, Gallard remained silent as he sat as his desk, reading something on his computer. When he finished, he stood up and walked to the large windows that covered a section of the wall. He spoke as he viewed the city. "Tell me, Prower. How do you catch ghosts?"

Miles was completely dumbfounded by the question. He knew that he had to expect the unexpected when dealing with his boss but this was just a whole new level of bewildering. "I'm sorry, Sir, what?"

"Did I mumble?" Was Gallard's reply. The man did not even turn away from the window.

Miles was glad of that, because then, he would not see him roll his eyes. "No, Sir, it's just that, I don't really understand the concept of the question."

Gallard finally turned around. "Just answer the question, Prower. It's as simple as that."

Miles shrugged and decided to humour the man... whilst also humouring himself. "OK. I don't believe in ghosts."

The Director's eyes narrowed to slits and Miles shrank back in his seat. He had always dreaded that stare; it often heralded a vicious tongue lashing that reminded you of a short tempered school principal. But he was once again left baffled at Gallard's next move. "Not the answer I expected but that's what I get for asking an ignoramus." He walked to his computer and turned the monitor around to allow Miles to view the screen.

Miles could see various news articles, dating all the way back to five years. They were all about the same thing: a series of robberies and murders. All involving the green hedgehog and his crew. The realization of what Gallard's question meant dawned on him. "So, what you're saying is..."

Gallard nodded. "Indeed. These people are ghosts, Miles. They strike you blind. Even when your guard is up, you never see them coming. At least that's what these articles say. In all these heists that I've read about, they're always successful. Not once have they failed. And they've never been caught. Never." He turned his stony gaze to Miles. "Now, to answer the question: 'how do you catch ghosts?' well the answer is, you hire the professionals."

Miles resisted the urge to scoff. That answer was totally anticlimactic. "And these 'professionals' would be who?"

Gallard returned to the window. "To be honest, Prower, I know there are others out there who think that B.R.U.T.E. Force isn't capable of handling this sort of thing. Pretty soon, those pompous sons of bitches will seize control of this case and leave us wallowing in self doubt."

 _Is he about to start rambling?_ Miles thought. "I think you're already wallowing in self doubt, Sir."

The Director turned to the fox and narrowed his eyes at him. "For almost six years, these transgressors have roamed freely around the country, taking whatever they please. Not a single officer or the country's best detectives have been able to stop them. Yet here you are, Miles Prower, going out there, risking your life, trying to do what others could not, trying to succeed where others have failed."

Miles could not tell if Gallard was complimenting his persistence or was discouraging him from carrying on an endeavour that seemed futile. Either way, he was very subtle about it. But his boss' point of view did not matter to him. What mattered was his own decision. And his decision was this: I won't stop until all those thugs are behind bars... or dead.

Gallard continued. "Now, Prower, the ultimate question is this: will you manage to succeed where these guys have failed? Or will _you_ fail and leave the job to these 'pompous sons of bitches?'"

"I'm not planning on giving up the case, Sir. No matter what, I will bring all those crooks to justice, regardless of what the articles or some washed up, incompetent detectives say."

The faintest of smiles graced Gallard's face. It would have gone unnoticed to the untrained eye but Miles caught it. "Exemplary determination, Prower. I do hope you succeed."

Miles rose from his seat. "Thank you, Sir."

The fox was just reaching for the door when Gallard called out to him. "Hold on now, Prower. I did not dismiss you. There's one more thing I almost forgot. Since Roberts is out injured, I cannot have you operating solo. You need a partner."

Miles frowned. He did not like the idea of working with anyone else other than Gareth. "With all due respect, Sir, I don't need another partner. I'm more comfortable working with Gareth."

"Do you see Roberts here? No. Will he be reporting for duty anytime soon? No! So as I said, you're getting a new partner! Final decision!" Gallard snarled and pounded his fist on the desk so hard, a box of pins fell to the floor.

Miles growled silently. He did not want a new partner. But that was the Director's decision. And when the Director made a decision, it was to be carried out, no questions asked. He sighed in defeat. "Fine. But a temporary partner."

Gallard nodded. "Good." He pressed a button on the phone at his desk. "Send him in."

Although Miles was incensed with the arrangement, he tried to be positive about. After all what's the worst that could happen?

There was a knock at the door and then it swung open. Miles turned around to meet his interim partner.

His face fell.

Standing there at the door was none other than Sebastian Chandler.

 **-X-X-X-**

 **A/N: I know it's been a while since I last updated this story. But of the two stories I'm writing, this one is the one that gets the most writer's block. And I also had an important exam.**

 **This chapter is rather short. I had initially planned to continue to a certain stage but then I decided that this is probably the best place to end the chapter. I'll get started on the next one ASAP. Please be patient with me.**

 **Please read and enjoy.**

 **J.W.H. 10**


	16. Chapter 16

"Sir, you can't be fucking serious!" Miles exclaimed furiously, disregarding the fact that he was in his boss' office, in the presence of his commanding officer. "I can't work with _him!_ " He spat the word out.

"Why the hell not?!" Gallard demanded.

"Because he hates me. Ever since I joined B.R.U.T.E. Force, all he's ever done is treat me like dirt." Miles replied, his glare turning to the other agent. But to his uttermost surprise, Chandler was strangely silent. Even stranger was the fact that he was smiling. Not the usual sneer he always directed at the fox but a nice warm smile, like a friendly neighbour inviting you to a barbecue.

"It's only temporary, Prower. I'm pretty sure you can go a week or too without killing each other." Gallard chuckled dismissively.

"But he already has a partner." Miles said, glared at the smiling human.

"Well, coincidentally, his partner was also granted a leave of absence, something about family." Gallard said offhandedly. "And since your partner is also out of work until his injury heals, I figured in the meantime, you two can work together on this case."

"But, Sir, I took him off the case. It was his defiance and imprudence that lost us Tarlini in the first place." Miles protested. He did not want Chandler anywhere near this case after the human's recalcitrance in their last mission together.

"And as your superior and the Director, I am putting him back on."

"But-"

"That's an order, Prower!" Gallard thundered, shooting out of his chair like he sat on a hotplate. He slowly sat back down and turned to his computer. "You are dismissed."

Chandler exited the office without a word but Miles lingered. "You're making a mistake, Sir." Then he also left.

Miles met Chandler standing outside the hallway. The man smiled a warm smile and walked up to him.

"I am really looking forward to us working together, Miles." Chandler stated.

Miles growled and tried to ignore him as he stomped his way to his office.

Chandler continued speaking. "You know, this offers us a good opportunity to-"

"Shut up!" Miles barked at him.

The human stopped speaking instantly as soon as Miles turned on him. "Let's get one thing straight, Chandler. You are not my partner. This little arrangement is only temporary until Gareth recovers. Afterwards, we both go our separate ways." Then Miles's anger gave way to curiosity. "Hey, speaking of partners, what happened to Bruce?"

"Bruce had to go back to his hometown. Something about a terminally ill relative." Chandler replied with a solemn expression. "Don't know when he'll be back though. But in the meantime..." his seemingly warm smile returned once again. "You and I are partners. And if we put aside our differences, I'm sure we can make this work."

Miles gave him a look of disgust.

"Wait, that came out wierd." Chandler mentally slapped himself.

Miles rolled his eyes. "Look, I don't care what Gallard said. I am _not_ working with you, even if my life depended on it. That's _my_ decision."

"Maybe I should tell him that." Then Chandler's usual conniving smirk returned. "You know, Gallard's decision supersedes your own. It would be a shame if you, a mere agent, would defy the Director's orders. He would have you fired for insubordination." He leaned down to Miles' level and whispered. "So, what's it gonna be, Prower? Partners? Or..." he gestured towards Gallard's office.

Miles cursed inwardly. He was in a real quandary here: Would he accept a partnership with his arch-rival? If so, he was certain the partnership would be tumultuous and rocky and they would hardly get anything done. On the other hand, he could refuse and earn himself an easily avoidable dismissal. With a sigh of resignation, he reluctantly extended his hand. "Fine."

Chandler instantly shook it, his smile once again turning warm and genuine. "A wise decision. I'll call you when I need you, _partner._ " And with that, the human strode off.

An animalistic growl issued from Miles' throat as he glared at Chandler's receding back before entering his office. He quickly plopped himself down onto his chair and sighed, combing his hand through his hair. The vulpine could tell this was going to be one fucked up week. Partnering him with his arch-rival, what the hell was Gallard thinking? Chandler and Miles could not stand each other, hell they could not even be in the same room together without sparking up an atmosphere of hostility.

But what bothered him the most was Chandler's attitude towards the announcement. When the human was being assigned as his partner, he expected a disgusted reaction. Instead, Chandler was completely OK with it. That had Miles feeling slightly suspicious. His brain began to work on a few theories, trying to deduce the man's true motives.

He did not get to meditate on it long enough before his cellphone rang. Miles checked the caller ID and saw that it was Gareth. "Hey, bud, what's up?"

" _I just got discharged from the hospital. So what time are you gonna come pick me up?"_

Miles had totally forgotten that Gareth was to be discharged today. Luckily, he already had that planned out. "Yeah, about that. You see, I called your mother and told her what happened. She insisted on taking you in to look after you."

The fox pushed the phone away from his ear as Gareth yelled his reply. _"WHAT?! Why the hell would you tell her that? And besides, I'm twenty-one years old and have been living independently for the past year. I can take care of myself."_

"Gary, you can't even use your left arm without hurting yourself. This was the most prudent course of action to take."

" _Fuck prudency, man. Do you have any idea how overbearing my mother gets when either I or Vicky suffer a serious injury?"_

Miles sighed and rubbed his forehead. "It's only for a week, Gary. What's the worst that could happen?"

" _She could start bathing and dressing me."_ Gareth ground out. _"I'll be treated like a kid. Vicky's never gonna let me live that down."_

"That's just your opinion." Miles scoffed. "But if she does do that, then you're just gonna have to live with it." The fox chuckled.

There was a moment of silence at the other end and then Gareth sighed. _"Man, this is gonna be one hell of a week."_

"Hey, you're not the only one who's having a hard time, Gary."

" _What's wrong."_

"I have been assigned a temporary partner in your absence. And you're not gonna believe who it is."

" _Who?"_

"Chandler." Miles growled the name out.

" _What? But you guys hate each other."_ Gareth exclaimed.

"Apparently Gallard is too blind to notice that."

" _Well, you're just gonna have to live with it."_ Gareth snickered. _"Ironic, isn't it?"_

Miles rolled his eyes. "Well, I gotta go. Have fun with your parents and little sister."

" _And have fun with Chandler."_ Gareth countered before he hung up.

 **-X-X-X-**

"Chandler, what are we doing here?" Miles asked.

The duo was parked outside of TwerkTown, a nightclub which was currently opened for business.

"My sources told me that this serves as one of Tarlini's hideouts. If we're lucky then surely we can find him in there." Chandler replied.

Miles was sceptical. "Really? Are you sure you just don't want to go in there and enjoy yourself?" This was something that Gareth would have done.

Chandler scoffed. "Oh, come on, Miles. Everyone knows that establishments such as these are always under the influence of the mob. The owner has to pay them protection money or the mob can use the place as a hideout. Either way, I'm sure we're on the right track."

As much as Miles hated to admit it, Chandler was right. "Wait, how come you know all this?"

The human stared at Miles incredulously. "Are you telling me you don't?" Then his stare became more condescending and he started to laugh. "If you had known this, then you would have probably already solved the case a long time ago."

Miles was about to reply but stopped himself. Chandler thought it was still all about Tarlini and the fox was all too happy to give him the satisfaction. He did not want Chandler to know about the green hedgehog, that Tarlini had now become a mere piece of a larger puzzle. Despite their temporary partnership, he was certainly not going to give Chandler everything he had uncovered.

"Are you sure your 'sources' aren't playing tricks on you? Coz I don't see anything that-" Miles stopped himself mid-sentence when his sharp eyes spotted someone familiar.

A black cat walked out of the club's side door, smoking a cigarette. He was soon followed by a female chipmunk who was scantily dressed. The two walked to a much more darker area of the building. It may have been too dark for anyone with normal eyesight but Miles' night vision allowed him to see what was happening.

The cat grabbed the chipmunk by the back of the head and forced her to her knees. She shot right back up and shouted something at the cat. Then they got into a heated argument until the chipmunk slapped the cat across the face, making him spit out his cigarette. Then she angrily stomped away. The cat rubbed the offended cheek and screamed something at the disappearing chipmunk.

"What's the matter, Prower? Cat got your tongue?" Chandler asked mockingly, snapping his fingers in Miles' face.

Miles did not take his eyes off the cat. "You could say that. You see that cat over there?"

Chandler looked to where Miles was pointing. "Where?"

"Right there by the side door."

The human squinted his eyes. "I don't see anything."

"It's probably because you don't have night vision." Miles stated. Well, there was that, and the fact that the cat was black furred and the clothes he was wearing were coincidentally black.

"Well, we can't all be blessed with your 'foxy' traits now, can we?" Chandler said indignantly. "Of course, last time I checked, foxes don't have two tails."

Miles rolled his eyes and concentrated on the cat once more. He saw the feline smoke another cigarette, mash it out and return inside.

"What's so special about this cat of yours anyways? Chandler asked nonchalantly.

"He was there during that other mission. You know, the one where you screwed up?" Miles added with a smirk. "Anyways, he might have some valuable information."

Chandler pulled out his Glock and released the slide before holstering it once more. "Then what are we waiting for?" Before Miles could stop him, he had already thrown the door open and was sauntering towards the club.

Miles face-palmed. They had not yet even figured out a plan. It was these rash acts that always resulted in failed missions. He was just thankful that he would not have to deal with Chandler for long. But despite his hatred of the guy, he could not just leave him to go in a potentially dangerous situation alone. Sighing, Miles took his own weapon and pulled the slide back before placing it in the holster behind his back, which he then concealed well behind his jacket. Getting out of the car, he followed his hotheaded... dare he think it... partner.

The moment he entered the nightclub, the fox was immediately assaulted with the smells of cigarette smoke, alcohol and over applied perfume. The club's surround sound allowed the music to flow evenly around the interior. At the centre of the club were two stages, each with a human and Mobian dancer, tending to their respective species.

Miles willed himself to look away from the Mobian stripper's silicone enlarged assets and quickly trudged his way to the one place where he would not look awkward: the bar.

"First time at a nightclub, Prower?" Chandler sneered as he sat at the stool next to Miles.

"No, I'm trying to stay focused. And that's kind of hard to do when you have _that_." The fox gestured to the dancing women.

Chandler dared to look and his eyes were immediately glued to the human stripper, who was slightly bent over and twerking in his direction. His gaze lingered longer than was intended until an orange furred hand started to wave in front f his line of sight. The human snapped out of it and averted his gaze.

"Alright, you've made your point. But you've got to at least order a drink or something." He pulled Miles in close and whispered into his ear. "In establishments under mob protection such as this one, one doesn't just come in and start looking around for someone. They're very paranoid and get suspicious easily so the best way to avoid suspicion is to act natural. Observe."

Chandler sat up straight and gestured to the barman. "Hey, barman. Two medium glasses of Labatt Blue Light."

As much as Miles hated to admit it, Chandler was actually being pretty helpful. To be completely honest, he had not expected this kind of attitude from the human. Rude, spiteful and abrasive were the character traits he had always associated Chandler with, yet he had shown none of them. But despite the change of personality, a part of Miles was still wary. He was sure Chandler had his true motives. If only he could figure them out.

The barman returned with two glasses of beer. Chandler pushed one Miles' way.

The fox stared at the drink in disgust. "We can't take alcohol on the job."

Chandler however, had already started gulping down his. "These aren't working hours, Miles. And don't worry. It's light beer."

That still did not sway Miles. "So? That doesn't make it any less an alcoholic drink."

Chandler scoffed. "Oh, come on, what are you? Twelve years old?" He took another swig and leaned in to whisper to the fox. "Remember what I told you."

To Miles' own chagrin, he conceded. He picked up the glass and stared at the yellowish-brown liquid in distaste. He did not like beer, never did, probably never will. But for the sake of "acting natural", he brought the cup to his lips and took a sip.

Well, what was initially planned to be a sip turned out to be a gulp. He had filled his mouth with more beer than he wanted and was currently fighting the urge to do a pretty amazing spit-take. Closing his eyes, he forced the beer down his throat. It left behind a slight burning sensation that admittedly felt pleasant. Otherwise, everything else tasted just foul.

Chandler grinned in appraisal. "See? That wasn't so bad now, was it?"

Miles was about to answer, when he suddenly felt his head feeling a bit heavy. Then light. His eyes felt like they were being inflated and the world seemed to tilt. He rose abruptly from his stool. "I gotta use the bathroom." He said and walked away.

The barman saw Miles' rushed exit and confronted Chandler about it. "What's up with your friend?"

Chandler shrugged as he finished his beer. "He's a real boring and uptight workaholic so I figured he could use some loosening up, you know: have a few beers, maybe even meet somebody to take home with him. Can you believe he's never been laid?"

 **-X-X-X-**

The door was unexpectedly flung open and a beaver burst in. "Tony, we've got a problem."

Tony was currently sitting in a chair, his pants undone and a half naked woman on her knees, in between his legs. His half lidded eyes quickly snapped open. "What the fuck are you doing?" He hated it when someone interrupted him during his private time.

"Sorry but you might wanna come see this. It's important." The beaver insisted.

Growling in annoyance, Tony stood up and fixed his pants. He turned to the hooker, who now looked frustrated. "Wait here."

Tony followed the beaver to the surveillance room. Various monitors displayed the different activities occurring in the club. "What exactly did you want to show me?" He asked disinterestedly.

The beaver pointed to one of the monitors. "Him."

What Tony had initially planned to be an indifferent glance turned into an intense stare as soon as he recognized the person the beaver was pointing at. "What the-? Prower? Here?

The beaver nodded. "So what do you propose we do? Should we let him go?"

Tony shook his head. He was perceptive enough to see that Miles was not here for the beer or the hookers. The way the fox sat and looked around clearly showed he had different agendas. "No. It's pretty obvious he's here for something. Look at the way he sits there, scanning the place. He must have been tipped off of our location." He watched with bemusement as Miles took a sip of beer, then rose abruptly and headed for the bathrooms. This offered him a golden opportunity to finally end the accursed fox. But in order to kill him and not stir up a commotion in a public place such as this, they were going to have to be discrete about it.

He turned to the beaver. "Listen. Make sure that fox does not leave this place alive."

The beaver smiled maliciously and nodded. "With pleasure." He reached for his Beretta and released the safety.

Tony snatched the gun from him. "Not with that! You're gonna have to be more silent so as not to cause a panic."

"In that case, why don't you send Keith?" The beaver grumbled.

"Just fucking go already!" Tony yelled.

 **-X-X-X-**

Miles splashed some water on his face and took deep, calming breaths whilst starting at his reflection in the bathroom's large mirror. He always got like that every time he drank anything alcoholic. Unlike Chandler, who was probably still at the bar, getting hammered. Not that he cared anyways. He had to stay focused on his mission.

The sound of the door opening made him glance towards it. In walked a beaver.

The beaver looked him up and down and smiled. "Rough night, huh?"

"You have no idea." Miles replied, trying to be polite. The beaver nodded but made no move away from the door. He paid no heed and tried to work on drying his face. He fished out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped off the water from his face. Once he was sure that he was dry, he glanced in the mirror to verify.

The beaver was now standing right behind him. He had pulled something shiny from his pocket, which he then held up before bringing it down on the fox.

Miles quickly dove out of the way as the knife arched down, missing his neck by mere millimetres. He spun around to face his attacker, who was just renewing his attack with a horizontal slash. Miles leaned back and reached for his gun. He quickly pulled it out but before he could fire, the beaver kicked it out of his hand. He followed up with a spin kick straight to Miles, muzzle. The fox staggered backwards, clutching the sink to prevent himself from falling to the floor.

The beaver struck again with his knife, this time with a downward stab. But this time, Miles stopped the incoming attack by grabbing his hand. He twisted it sharply, forcing the beaver to let go of the blade. The fox then pulled him in and by the time the beaver's face turned to his direction, was met with a fist straight up his muzzle. His head snapped back and one of his buckteeth flew out his mouth.

Spitting blood onto the floor, the beaver snarled. "You're gonna pay for that." Then he pounced and nailed Miles with a spear, ramming the fox into a wall. Miles had the wind knocked out of him and sank to his knees, coughing and taking deep breaths.

The beaver smiled malevolently as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a rope of twine **(or whatever they use to strangle someone)**. He moved behind Miles and wrapped the rope around his neck. Then he began to pull.

Miles' hands instinctively moved to the thin rope in a futile attempt at relieving the pressure on his windpipe. Of course it was never going to work so with the remainder of his rapidly fading consciousness, he quickly thought of a plan out of his perilous predicament.

With one hand, he felt up the rope until he felt the beaver's own hand. Unsheathing his claws, he quickly plunged them into his arm. The beaver yelled and his grip slackened, allowing the fox to break away. He took a deep breath and then turned to his attacker.

The beaver, who was distracted by the blood dripping from his right wrist, did not see the kick aimed for his stomach coming. Once it connected, the air was forced out through his mouth and he doubled over, clutching his abdomen. Miles then grabbed him by the head and brought his knee up into the beaver's face, causing a fountain of blood to erupt from his nose.

Miles lifted the now disoriented beaver over his shoulders and carried him into a stall. He threw the beaver headfirst into a toilet bowl and then flushed it.

The beaver instantly began to thrash about as he was swirlied but Miles still held on to him. The water in the bowl started to overflow and spill onto the floor. Still, Miles kept his immobilized. The beaver's thrashing then got weaker until it stopped altogether.

Miles finally let go of the drowned beaver and stepped back to behold his gruesome work.

The dead beaver's head was still immersed in the bowl while the rest of his body was hanging outside **(like in Austin Powers)**.

Miles closed the stall, retrieved his Glock and walked to the door. He saw that the beaver had locked it, probably to prevent anyone from walking in as he was taking care of business... the business of trying to kill him. He unlocked it and walked out of the bathroom and back to the bar.

 **-X-X-X-**

Chandler was just finishing his third glass, when Miles returned. He gave the fox a quick once over and noticed that he was more dishevelled than before. "What happened to you? Did you go for a quickie?" He chortled.

Miles rolled his eyes. "Ha, ha. Very funny." He then lowered his voice. "If you must know, somebody just tried to kill me."

The smile on Chandler's face vanished immediately. "You don't say. So what did you do to him?"

Miles slowly smiled as he recalled the sight of the beaver's head lodged in the toilet. "Let's just say I gave him a slow, disgusting death."

 **-X-X-X-**

"He failed?" Tony asked himself incredulously as he watched Miles return to the bar. He growled in annoyance. "Looks like we're gonna have to up our efforts a bit." He exited the surveillance room and entered the private lounge, where various other gang members were served drinks and being entertained by their own dancers. Then an idea struck him.

"Hey, you." He called to a human waiter carrying an empty tray. The waiter obediently strode over.

"Yes, sir?"

"I'd like you to take care of a little problem for me. I'll give you five hundred rings if you do it." Tony offered.

The waiter was game. "Sure. What do you want me to do?"

Tony took him into the surveillance room and pointed to a monitor. "You see that two tailed fox?"

The waiter nodded. "Yeah."

Tony reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a Remington r-51. He screwed on a silencer and then handed the weapon over to the waiter. "I want you to kill him. Can you handle that?"

"Make it a thousand rings and you got yourself a deal." Despite the magnitude of the task, the waiter seemed all too eager.

"Fine." Tony handed the silenced Remington to the waiter, who wrapped it perfectly into a cloth. He still looked like a normal waiter with a cloth draped over his wrist, nothing suspicious about him.

To the untrained eye.

 **-X-X-X-**

"...and you stuck his head down a toilet and drowned him?" Chandler exclaimed, but not too loud for the other patrons to hear him.

"Yeah." Miles replied smugly.

"That was twisted, man." Chandler said with a serious expression... which quickly morphed into one of glee. "And I LIKE IT! Come on, I'll buy you another drink."

"No, thank you." After that pathetic attempt on his life, Miles was sure that the mobsters now knew he was in the club. There were probably going to be more attempts made on his life. And his senses had to be alert. He turned away from the bar and focused his attention on the club's activities, hoping to catch anyone acting suspicious. Or better yet, catch a glimpse of that black cat.

Maybe being at the mob's centre of attention had its advantages. Maybe they would send the cat after him next.

But nothing else happened and Miles was beginning to lose patience. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary... except for a waiter who was just standing in front of him from a good distace, doing nothing. Whilst it was nothing anyone would give a second thought, the fox did find it rather odd for a waiter to just stand idle in a club as busy as this one.

Miles noticed that he had a cloth draped over his hand. Most waiters always did that, especially in upscale restaurants, in order to appear fancy. But there was just one small problem: waiters drape the cloth on their wrists. This one was draped over his hand. Not to mention the hand looked longer.

Something did not seem right.

The waiter's covered hand moved ever so slightly. A clumsy move later, and the tip of a metallic object poked out. Miles was quick to guess what he was up to.

In an instant, the fox whipped out his Glock and opened fire. The well placed shot had a round burrowing deep into the waiter's chest. The waiter fell to the floor, dead, dropping his concealed Remington.

The gunshot certainly had the whole club panicking in a heartbeat.

And the panic increased some more when the gangsters burst out of the private lounge, guns in hand, already aimed. When their sights rested on a two tailed fox, they quickly opened fire.

Miles quickly dove behind the bar counter, followed by Chandler. He was completely shocked when Miles just shot some innocent guy for no reason.

"Why the hell did you do that?" He barked.

"That waiter was going to kill me!" Miles shot back.

"Oh, and what difference does that make now?" Chandler yelled over the sound of gunfire and stampeding patrons.

Every gangster had their fire concentrated on the bar. Even though they were hitting nothing but bottles, it left Miles and Chandler pinned down so hard, they could not raise their own weapons to retaliate. Miles had to think of a plan fast.

It came to him once he glanced at the stampeding crowd. At one end of the bar near the exit, everyone was packed so tight trying to squeeze out of the door. The crowd's compactness created a sort of wall that, if timed right, could be used as the perfect cover to conceal himself from the gangster's line of sight

"Alright, I've got a plan. You see how the crowd are packed tight on that far side of the bar there?"

Chandler looked and nodded.

"They offer the perfect cover for one of us to slip out of here unnoticed. If we can leap over the counter at just the right time, the thugs won't know we've moved to a different position."

Chandler looked horrified. "Are you crazy?! We'll get killed the moment we rise so much as one inch!"

Miles did not have time to argue. Pretty soon, the crowd will disappear and their window will be closed. "Fine! I'll do it myself." Without waiting for Chandler's reply, he crawled over to the side nearest to the crowd. Sneaking a peek over the counter, he saw the gangsters completely occupied with shooting at the position he had just vacated. Now, it was time for the most dangerous part of his plan. Counting to three, he vaulted over the counter.

He landed on the safe side of the crowd, totally unseen by the thugs. Miles breathed a huge sigh of relief, knowing that if he had mistimed his jump and was spotted, then they would have turned their fire on the innocent civilians. He then waited for the panicky mob to recede; there was no room for him to squeeze through and get to the other side.

Eventually, it did and Miles pushed his way through as the last of the civilians screamed their way out. The fox then dove into a booth for cover. A peek from the edge of the booth and he saw that the gangsters were still concentrating their fire on the bar.

Miles pulled out his Glock and opened fire. The thugs had not bothered to find cover and were sitting ducks. One by one, the thugs fell to his expert marksmanship. The remaining thugs looked around, confused, until they spotted him. They redirected their fire his direction, but Miles quickly hid himself.

After the gunfire on the bar stopped, the cowering Chandler dared a peek over the counter. The thugs that were previously shooting at him were now shooting at Miles, who was perfectly hidden in a booth. Now they were so focused on Miles that they had completely forgotten about him.

With a malicious grin, Chandler pulled out his weapon and began firing at the thugs.

The thugs were now beyond dumbfounded. Bullets were coming at them from both sides; they could do nothing but just stand there and get shot. Before long, every single one of them lay dead on the now bloodstained floor.

Miles popped out of his hiding spot at the booth, a smug expression on his face. "You see? I knew that would work."

Chandler was surprised that the plan actually paid dividends. "OK, I have to admit, that was a good plan."

Miles then ejected his empty magazine and reloaded. "Alright, enough gloating. We still have to go in there." With his weapon raised, he headed towards the door leading to the private area.

 **-X-X-X-**

"Tony, he's on his way over." A skunk informed the deputy leader.

"Shit!" Tony exclaimed. Miles Prower was proving tougher to kill, like a fly. That was the third method of attack he had deployed that night, with no success. How many more times was he going to have to try to kill the damn fox? "Take whoever we have left and stop him!"

The skunk nodded and turned to go.

"Oh, and bring Keith in here! I have a special job for him."

"Sure." The skunk nodded again and exited the room.

Tony did not have to wait long for Keith to arrive.

"What is it, Tony?" The cat asked.

"I have a special task that only befits you." Tony stated. "Can you handle it.?"

"Just name it."

"I need you for an ambush attack. You're stealthy and your fur colour and clothes are applicable for that sort of thing. Can you do it?"

Keith nodded. "Of course I can."

"Good."

Tony then pulled out his Beretta and started shooting out the lights in the room.

 **-X-X-X-**

A pair of arms holding a gun appeared from a corner.

Miles quickly grabbed them and hoisted them up. The rat holding the weapon was caught off guard by the attack. He was subsequently kneed in the gut before a shot under his chin sent a bullet through the top of his head.

The two human gangsters that were following swiftly opened fire. Miles used the rat's body as a shield and shot one of them in the leg. He then flung the rat at the other guy, creating the perfect distraction to make him vulnerable for a shot to the head. The other thug, who was writhing on the floor, met a similar fate.

Chandler, who was covering the rear, bit back a compliment. Not that he expected Miles to ask for one. "Clear on this side."

Miles stalked ahead, keeping his weapon raised. They passed empty rooms which could only be the dancer's changing rooms; or where they could also make money on their backs.

The last room at the end of the hall however, was not so empty. A small party of five was there to meet them. Their greeting was a barrage of gunfire.

Miles and Chandler retreated back into the hallway.

The thugs ceased firing and sent three people to investigate: a duck, a squirrel and a human.

They snuck a peek in the hallway and were surprised to find it empty. But they still ventured in, just to make sure. But as they were passing by the rooms, the squirrel and human were simultaneously shot in their heads. The shooters were not visible and that sent the duck into panic.

Miles and Chandler then burst out of opposite rooms and fired on the hapless duck. He caught both rounds in his chest.

"OK, that leaves two more." Chandler huffed. So far, they were still alive, despite odds completely against them.

In the lounge, the remaining two gangsters trembled in fear. With shaking hands, they pointed their weapons at the entrance. Their scared minds had them ready to fire at anything that came through, be it friend or foe.

What did come through was a dead friend; the duck's body was flung into the room and the wimpy thugs wasted no time peppering it with bullets, screaming all the way. Despite the duck being already dead and it being one of their own, they continued firing until their guns clicked.

That was all Miles and Chandler needed to hear before they came charging in. A few rounds were expelled into the thug's chests.

Chandler surveyed the bodies. "No sign of that black cat."

"There's only one place left to look." Miles said, pointing to a pair of double doors. "He should definitely be hiding in there." The fox cautiously walked over to the doors and kicked them open, promptly pointing his weapon out.

He could see nothing but an inky blackness.

"OK, let's go."

Chandler reared back. "Are you insane? I can't see shit in there."

Miles rolled his eyes. "Fine. I'll go." He then added as a parting shot. "Pussy."

The fox slowly ventured into the room. His night vision kicked in, allowing him a good view of the room. It was an office, that was pretty obvious. He did a 360 of the room. Still no black cat.

"You see anything?" Chandler asked from outside.

Miles shook his head. "No. There's no sign of-"

There was a slight creaking and the doors to the office were suddenly shut, trapping Miles in the dark office.

It took a while for the fox's night vision to kick in and by the time his vision improved, he could just make out a black figure pouncing on him with a knife in hand.

Miles quickly sidestepped the attack. His attacker landed on the floor, which was littered with broken glass. The figure straightened itself and spun around to face him. It was none other than the black cat himself.

 _About time._ Miles thought.

 **-X-X-X-**

Keith's night vision allowed him to see Miles perfectly once he had entered the room. All the cat had to do was stay hidden behind one of the doors until the fox had moved deeper into the room and the he would strike.

And after Miles had done a sweeping search and was unable to locate him, did he finally make his move. In a flash, he pushed the door shut, whilst also moving to the other one and flinging it shut as well. Once his eyes had adjusted to the darkness, he had pulled out his knife –in his haste, he had forgotten to grab his gun- and leapt towards the seemingly vulnerable fox.

What Keith did not consider, however, was the fact that foxes also have night vision and despite his fur colour, he was still visible to the vulpine. That allowed Miles to dodge his attack.

Keith picked himself up from the floor and turned to face Miles. "You have been causing my boss a lot of problems, Prower."

"Yeah, I'm just that good." Miles retorted, aiming his Glock at the cat. "Where is your boss anyways?"

"He was not even here to begin with." Keith chuckled. "Sorry to disappoint."

Miles smirked. "On the contrary. I was actually here for you."

Keith's face morphed into one of confusion. "W- what?"

"Now drop your weapon and put your hands up." The fox ordered.

Keith made as if to comply, but at the last second, he threw his blade at the fox.

Miles saw the knife heading straight for him and he swivelled to his left to dodge it. Unfortunately, it put him off balance and that was when Keith tackled him to the floor. It was a pretty painful landing as he felt a few pieces of broken glass scrape his back. Keith quickly got on top of him and delivered a punch to his cheek. Miles growled, more in annoyance than pain and when the cat renewed his attack, he grabbed the incoming arm and twisted it. With a huge grunt of effort, he threw Keith off him and onto his back whilst violently wrenching his arm until it dislocated at the shoulder.

Keith screamed in agony but was promptly silenced by a whack in the back of the head from Miles' weapon.

 **-X-X-X-**

 **A/N: Not much to say, really. Except see you in June.**

 **Read and enjoy.**

 **J.W.H. 10**


	17. Chapter 17

"He tried to what?" Miles asked.

"He tried to kill himself." Roger replied.

The fox was stomping his way to the interrogation room, closely followed by the mouse. "Did anyone interrogate him yet?"

Roger shook his head. "Not yet. Director Gallard thought it best if the agent in charge of the case took the first crack at him."

Miles did not want to waste any more time with his latest arrest. He was very close to finding out more about the green hedgehog and was not going to let a chance like this one slip through his fingers.

They entered a room adjacent to the interrogation room. Gallard was already in there, arms folded against his chest, as well as Dennis. To Miles' surprise, Chandler was also there. Under normal circumstances, he would have not wanted the man in the same room with him but since they had caught him together, (Miles doing most of the catching anyway) he thought it only fair if he was present.

"I must say, you boys certainly went through a lot of trouble to catch this fellow." Gallard commented impassively, staring at the black cat cuffed in the room. "Let's hope he's well worth it."

"It was nothing really." Chandler replied nonchalantly.

"Is it true the prisoner tried to kill himself?" Miles asked Dennis.

The lion nodded. "Apparently so. When we were bringing him in, he went totally bonkers. Reached for my gun and tried to blow his own brains out. I had to tase him to shut him up."

"Why would he do that?" Chandler mused.

"Isn't it obvious? He doesn't want us to know whatever information he's hiding." Miles opened the door of the interrogation room. "But I'm gonna get it out of him."

 **-X-X-X-**

Keith looked up forlornly as Miles entered the room. His hands were cuffed to a metal bar on the table to compound to his lack of free movement. After his little scene in the van when he tried to shoot himself on the way here, he could not blame their foresightedness. Clearly they wanted him alive; and for good reason too. He carried valuable information about Scourge's plans and they hoped to wring it out of him.

As the fox shut the door behind him, Keith wondered what lengths he would go to in order to get him to talk. The fox was not all that threatening in his appearance: youthful face, soft features; Keith found himself getting a bit lax.

Miles did not want to waste any time making veiled threats to the guy. He went straight to the point. "I know you work for Tarlini but recently, you've affiliated yourself with a new player: the green hedgehog. I want to know who he is and what he's planning. And since you took part in his robberies, I'm guessing you're part of his inner circle. So, care to share?"

Keith's voice was barely audible. "Kill me."

"What?"

"I said kill me!" The cat yelled suddenly, Miles reared his head back.

"Right. I heard about your suicide attempt when they were transporting you. Why would you do that?" Miles asked.

"If he finds out I got caught, he'll kill me." Keith answered ominously, as if he was talking about a ghost. "So why wait for him when I can go by myself?"

"I think I knocked a few nerves loose when I kicked your ass." Miles smirked. "But if you still have an ounce of sanity left in there, I suggest you put it to good use and tell me where I can find the hedgehog."

Keith looked Miles dead in the eyes. "I ain't telling you shit."

Miles frowned but maintained a cool demeanour. "Alright, I get it. You're scared of him. But if you tell me where I can find him, you won't have to worry about him anymore. We can protect you."

Keith let out a hissy laughter. "Pu-lease. You must have missed it when he killed your last prisoner from right under your noses. You can throw me in the deepest, darkest, most remote hole you have but he'll still find me. And whether I tell you his plans or not, he is still gonna kill me. But I would rather die loyal to his cause rather than die knowing that I betrayed it." The cat looked up into Miles' blue eyes. "That's the one drawback of being part of _this_ inner circle."

Miles growled and reached for Keith's shirt, pulling the cat closer to him. The fox bared his fangs. "You're gonna tell me what you know, one way or **another!** " He punctuated his last sentence by shoving Keith back into his chair.

The door swung open and Gallard rushed in, followed by Dennis and Roger. "Prower, you know you're not allowed to do that!"

But Miles ignored him and unsheathed his claws. Even if it meant not following protocol, he was going to extract the information out of this cat; whether he was healthy or half dead."

Dennis saw Miles raise his clawed hand and quickly grabbed it before the fox could strike. "Miles! You could get in real big trouble for striking him."

"Pff. What's the point anyway? I'm still dead." Keith said, despondent.

"Miles, that's enough. You've done your bid for the day. Go home." Gallard ordered.

Miles tried to protest. "But-"

"But nothing, Prower!" Gallard gave the fox his stern stare. "I'll take it from here."

"Fine."Miles growled.

"I can tell you this, though." Keith said after a while. "He has big plans. All those thefts he had us do are just the tip of the iceberg. None of you will be able to survive what he's really got coming."

"And what would that be?" Miles asked, even though he could guess what the answer would be.

Keith gave them a smile of derision. "I ain't telling you shit."

 **-X-X-X-**

Tony was trembling with fear. He would count himself lucky if he walked out of there alive.

He was in main room in Scourge's base, with the hedgehog's back turned to him, staring at the giant, blank monitor.

"So, you mean to tell me that you left Keith alone to deal with the fox?" Scourge asked with a strangely calm voice.

"Ye- yes." Tony stammered.

"And you're confident he would succeed?" The hedgehog pressed on.

"Um... well... yeah, I'm sure." Tony answered in a voice that was foreign to him. Although he had seen Keith in action and was confident of his abilities, the hedgehog's tone diminished his faith.

"Funny. Then why hasn't he called you?" Scourge spun around and faced the mobster. "If he was successful, shouldn't he have notified you?"

The hedgehog's rising tone made Tony gulp. "Well... I'm sure he's on his way right now-"

"Are you really that stupid?!" Scourge suddenly exploded. "Clearly he's been captured. And that means he is most likely to spill whatever info he has to those agents!"

"But Keith would never tell them anything. He's very good at withholding information, I assure you." Tony stated with more confidence than before.

Scourge zoomed up to him until he was inches from Tony's face. He grabbed the human's shirt collar and yanked him down to his eye level. "For your sake, you better be right!"

"Hey, what's going on here?"

Both hedgehog and human turned at the sound of the voice. Fiona stood at the doorway, a smirk on her face.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you two were about to kiss."

Scourge released Tony and backed away. "No. This dimwit unwittingly left a key member of our operation at the mercy of that fox."

"You mean that fox with the two tails?" Fiona asked.

"Yes. Now Keith risks revealing sensitive material to the authorites. I have to get there fast and keep him quiet." The hedgehog cracked his knuckles.

"Hang on." Fiona stopped him. "By 'keeping him quiet' you mean you're gonna kill him." It was not a question.

"Precisely."Scourge answered without hesitation.

"But don't you think that is a bit extreme?"

Scourge shrugged as if he was just performing a minuscule task like taking out the trash. "It's a small price to pay for getting caught. I made that pretty clear: you get captured, you die. I cannot risk putting Project Cerberus in jeopardy all because of sentiment. Project Cerberus will be kept a secret until the day it is launched." He opened a door and went into the hallway.

Fiona followed him. "Is that all we are to you, Scourge? Expendable pawns you can just get rid of when things aren't done to your liking?"

Scourge turned around and faced her. "There are no exceptions, Fiona!" He thundered. Then his gaze softened. "Except, maybe for you."

The vixen raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Scourge smiled as he moved closer to her. "When I conquer this country and become the new king, I don't want to be lonely at the top." A hand reached out and he gently stroked her cheek. "I will need a queen by my side. And there's no one I'd rather trust than you."

Fiona blinked incredulously. "Are... are you serious?"

"Of course." Scourge's reddish-brown eyes softened. "In the six years we've worked together, you have always been a loyal and dedicated member of my team. You undertake each and every one of our missions with near flawlessness and without hesitation. That is enough for you to fully earn my trust. And therefore..." he took her hand in his. "You've earned your place by my side."

That was the first time Fiona had seen him truly mellow and sincere. Not to mention he was offering her a place as his queen. That would mean she would have to fully cross over to the dark side. And that also meant she would have to...

As much as a position of power was alluring, Miles still crossed her mind. Sure he cheated on her but he was under the false impression that he would never see her again. She would have cheated on him as well to get even and that would have been _so_ easy with Scourge constantly throwing himself at her. But Scourge was not worth cheating with; or any other male for that matter. She was Miles' and Miles' alone.

The vixen smirked and leaned in. "Well... your offer is quite tempting, Scourge. And I must say, becoming your bride and ruling an entire country... who would pass that up?"

Scourge had a grin on his face as he followed suit.

Fiona put a finger to his lips. "But I'm sure there are others who would be more than happy to take up that position. Like Snide for example; he's worked with you way longer than I have. Not to mention he's your second-in-command. It would be fitting if _he_ became your bride instead."

Scourge frowned. "I don't get it, Fiona. Every girl would be jumping at a chance like this. Don't you want unlimited power in your grasp?"

The vixen turned around with a dismissive swish of her tail. "I'm not that kind of girl."

Scourge's sincere expression dissolved and was replaced by his usual conniving countenance. "You don't know what you're missing out on, Fiona."

Fiona turned at the door. "Please. You haven't even conquered the planet yet. There's really no guarantee you'll be king."

 **-X-X-X-**

"Any luck?" Miles asked over his phone. He was lying in his bed about to go to sleep but was momentarily stalled by a call from Director Gallard.

"No. The son of a bitch won't crack." Gallard said over the other end. "To be honest, he's a really frustrating bastard. I'm almost tempted to deliver some off-the-books interrogation myself."

 _Told you so_ , Miles almost said but he held his tongue. However, that did not stop him from being sarcastic. "Did you try appealing to his better nature?"

There was a contemptuous growl at the other end. "Very funny. All I'm getting is the usual bullshit: he's not going to betray the 'noble cause', he believes he is going to die any minute now..."

"He's gotta cough up the information he carries first." Miles said. "And I don't care if it's illegal or not but if he doesn't cooperate tomorrow, then I'm gonna make him bleed it out."

The fox expected a harsh reminder of protocol from his boss but his reply completely surprised him. "I couldn't agree more, Miles."

"Wait, are you OK with that? Or better yet, are you OK at all?" He asked incredulously.

Gallard chuckled. "I think it's high time we did something a little unorthodox. After all, this is a new game Tarlini and his new friends are playing."

"Splendid." The fox beamed.

"Oh, and Prower?" Gallard called out before Miles could hang up. "It would be best not to mention this to anyone."

Miles chuckled. "Agreed, Sir. Have a good night." He then hung up. He placed the phone on his nightstand and prepared to get some much needed sleep. It had really been a long day.

Before the fox could close his eyes, his phone's ringtone pierced his ears for the second time that night. It was usually a pleasant sound but now, it just irritated the hell out of him.

With an annoyed growl, he rolled over and picked up the phone. Staring at the screen, he saw that the number was a new one and the caller was making a video call. Curiosity got the better of him and he swiped his finger towards the "answer" button.

"What?" He did not hide the annoyance in his voice.

He almost dropped his phone when he was greeted by the familiar blue eyes, red fur and mischievous smirk of his girlfriend.

"You don't sound happy to see me, Miles." Fiona snickered.

Miles blinked and shook his head. "Fiona?"

"What? Were you expecting someone else? The vixen giggled and pulled her phone farther away from herself. "Maybe I should give you a _better_ look."

Fiona panned her phone out. It was at that angle that Miles saw that she was only clad in a bra and panties. He drew a smirk of his own. "Maybe if you could lose a few _layers_ , I might see for myself if you're really my girlfriend."

"Miles, you perv." Fiona tugged on her bra strap but made no further move to remove it.

"So, what's got you calling at such an ungodly hour?" Miles asked, in spite of the mood building up.

"Jeez, I don't know, how about the insatiable urge to see my boyfriend again?" Fiona replied with heavy sarcasm.

Miles rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I missed you too."

"My boss was hitting on me again, only he did me one better this time."

Miles sat up in his bed. "What did he do this time?"

"He offered me riches and power, all the things you don't have." Fiona said impassively. "Of course I rebuffed him. I just needed a good reminder why."

That last statement drew a smile from the fox.

"So, are you busy this weekend?" Fiona asked.

"Apart from visiting Gareth, not really. He got injured, by the way."

"Aw, what happened to him?" Fiona asked, even though, deep down, she knew why.

"Poor guy got stabbed in one of our missions."

"Sorry to hear that." Fiona replied sincerely.

"He'll be alright." Miles said dismissively. "But that's enough about him. Will you also be free this weekend?"

"No, actually." Fiona almost giggled when she saw Miles' face drop. "I'll be too busy visiting my boyfriend."

Miles rolled his eyes. "Very funny. He can't wait."

"I have to punish him for something."

It was then that Miles remembered what Fiona said when they last met: that she would punish him for his little affair with Cream. "Um... what will you do exactly?"

Fiona laughed mischievously. "He'll find out this weekend."

Miles slightly gulped. Fiona did say she was furious at him for cheating on her, although she did not show it. He had seen her bad side countless times back when they were younger and it was something he did not want to be on the receiving end of.

Fiona smirked at the effect her words had on the fox. "Guess I should let you sleep now. And just to make sure I don't leave on a sour note..."

The vixen began to tug on her bra strap, slowly letting it slide down her shoulder. Miles' breath caught as the flesh of her right boob was slowly revealed to him. She pulled the other strap and exposed part of the left one.

"Fiona, what are you doing?" Miles whispered.

"Leaving you a little parting gift." Fiona smirked as she reached behind her back and unhooked her bra, finally revealing her gorgeous mounds of flesh to her boyfriend.

Miles inhaled sharply as the familiar tingling in his lions kicked in. Stealing a glance at his blankets, he saw the telltale tent being pitched on the surface over his privates.

"I guess it is working." The vixen giggled. She dropped the angle of her phone and showed Miles her panties. Hooking a finger on the waistband, she pulled them down a bit, exposing some hip.

Miles' breath came in audible gasps at his girlfriend's little striptease. "You've just made the term 'video vixen' literal."

Fiona giggled and pulled her panties down the rest of the way, keeping the phone's camera focused on her womanly treasure. "Just thinking about our meeting this weekend is making me horny."

With two fingers, she spread her pussy lips open, exposing the wet, pink flesh inside. She then slipped her fingers in.

Miles swallowed a large helping of saliva that had collected in his mouth. "Fiona, this isn't fair. You can't tease me like this, not when you're miles away."

Fiona tilted the camera to her face, which was donning a conniving smirk. "Do you want me to stop?"

Miles could not really answer to that. He just stared on unblinkingly.

"That's what I thought." Fiona giggled and slid two fingers inside her pussy.

There was a time when Miles would look down on the act he was about to do right now. Fiona was the only person who knew how to fully exploit his urges and this instance was no exception. She knew how to make him weak and had succeeded in doing so. With his eyes still on the screen, the fox reached under the sheets and grasped himself.

 **-X-X-X-**

Keith sat in his cell, a tense ball of nerves. Any minute now, he expected Scourge to zip in and snap his neck. It was a fate he would gladly accept. This was what he signed on for the moment he had agreed to be a part of the hedgehog's plans.

The sound of the cell door unlocking nearly made him faint. The cat quickly collected himself and stood up. "I accept my fate, Scourge." He whispered

The door opened but instead of a speedy, green hedgehog, there came in a man and a Mobian Labrador.

"What the fuck is-" he did not get far, for the man instantly clubbed him over the head, knocking him out.

Bruce looked at Chandler with an appalled expression. "Was that really necessary?"

"It was quick, wasn't it?" Chandler retorted. "Come on, let's get him to the van."

 **-X-X-X-**

With a groan, Keith awoke.

"What the hell? Where the fuck am I?"

He found himself in a wooded area, his hands tied behind him to a tree. A campfire burned in front of him with a pot containing boiling water on top of it.

"It's about time you awoke."

Keith's head whipped around, trying to find the owner. "who's there?"

The Labrador and human from before revealed themselves.

"Sorry about that whack on your head. My partner can be a little abrasive." Bruce half-heartedly apologised.

"What the fuck do you want from me?" Keith demanded.

"Information." Chandler stated simply. "We want you to tell us what you refused to tell the fox who interrogated you back at the agency."

Keith finally calmed down. This was nothing but another interrogation session. Clearly, these guys learned nothing from the last one, that he would not give anything up so easily. He burst into scornful laughter. "When are you guys going to get it through your thick skulls that I ain't telling you shit?"

"We were hoping you would say that." Chandler sneered and picked something from the fire. Keith saw that it was a red hot wire.

"What- what are you gonna do with tha- AAAAAHH!"

The cat screamed as the wire was pierced through his abdomen.

Chandler then yanked the wire out, steaming and reeking of burnt flesh.

"This is a violation of my rights!"

"Do we look like we give a shit?" The human retorted. "Out here, there's no law, or protocol. So if you refuse to cooperate..." The wire was jabbed into his abdomen again, causing Keith to yelp.

"Now, let's start again. We know Tarlini is no longer the one planning your heists. After all, he's not the kind of person to go after steel unless it's been moulded into firearms. So tell me, who exactly is the head behind these thefts?"

Despite his pain, Keith still managed some words. "I'll never tell! I won't be the one who betrays his noble cause."

Chandler smirked and retrieved another red hot wire from the fire. This one was pierced into Keith's left chest. He smiled maliciously at the cat's pained look. "Then tell me this, Keith. Is this 'noble cause' really worth all this pain?" He did not bother to take the wire out; instead he added another to Keith's right chest.

Although he had worked for Tarlini for quite some time, Keith had never been tortured before. This was a whole new experience for him, an unpleasant one at that. He was certain Scourge would extend to him the courtesy of making his death quick. This, on the other hand, was going to take long. The cat could probably speed things up if he cooperated; though he felt like a backstabber for doing so.

"Alright, I'll talk, I'll talk!" He wailed.

Chandler chuckled and pulled the wires out. "There, that wasn't so bad now, right? Now, let's try again. Who is the mastermind behind your new operations?"

At that moment, Keith secretly hoped Scourge would find him and put him out of his misery, making him die without having to leak valuable information. But he had to face reality and cope with the current situation he was in.

"He calls himself Scourge... and he believes he can build a better kingdom than this one."

"And what does that have to do with all the metal this 'Scourge' stole?" Bruce asked.

"He plans to use the tear down and rebuild approach." Keith groaned out.

Chandler looked puzzled at the lack of clarity. "What?"

"To build a new kingdom, he's gonna have to tear down the old one first." Keith explained. "He's going to use that metal to build the vessels needed to do the task."

Bruce's eyes widened. "That means he's going to destroy the kingdom?"

"Indeed." Chandler answered before Keith could. He then turned to the cat. "So where is Scourge's base of operations?"

Keith remained silent.

"My friend, need I remind you of the consequences of holding your tongue?" The human gestured towards the fire.

Keith ground his teeth. "I've said enough, man. It's bad enough I revealed his plans but giving up his location is even worse."

"You wanna know what else is worse? The amount of pain you're about to feel." Chandler grabbed the pot of boiling water and poured half of it onto Keith.

Bruce had to cover his ears at the shrill scream of agony the cat emitted; if they were still in the city, someone would have surely heard him. "Whoa, Sebastian, take it easy! Aren't you taking this a little bit too far?"

Chandler ignored his partner. "Where is Scourge's base of operations?!"

Keith's only answer was a series of sharp gasps as his body convulsed violently.

"I will not ask you again." The human pressed on, holding the pot just over the cat's head.

Keith looked up with watery eyes and spat out a reply. "I... will... not... tell... you."

Chandler growled and emptied the rest of the scalding water onto the cat. He screamed, gave off a few violent jerks and then lay still.

"What the..." The man dropped the pot and knelt to Keith's position. He shook the cat's body."Hey, wake up! I'm not done with you."

Bruce pressed two fingers to Keith's neck. "I can't get a pulse, Sebastian. I think he's dead."

"Dead?" Chandler sounded incredulous. "The torture wasn't even all that severe."

"You just poured boiling water on him!" The dog exclaimed. "Some people's bodies can't handle that kind of torture, man."

Chandler stood up and kicked the pot in anger. "That's just great! My one chance to crack this case and my source of valuable intel dies!"

Bruce glared at him. "What are you so pissed off about? It's your fault he died. I told you the boiling water was too extreme."

Despite the loss, Chandler tried to look at the bright side. "At least we know more about Scourge's plans than Miles. That puts us a step ahead."

"But I don't think I can go on with this if we're going to showcase this kind of brutality." The Labrador gestured to Keith's corpse.

Chandler grabbed Bruce's arm. "Hey, this is on both on us. Remember what we agreed last week? We're gonna solve this case before Prower does, even if it means breaking a few rules... or crossing a few lines."

Bruce remained silent for a while and then growled in exasperation. "You're lucky I don't like him too."

That brought a smile to the human's lips. "Excellent. Now help me dispose of the body." He went behind the tree and began to undo Keith's binds. "As far as you, I and the agency are concerned, the green hedgehog –we don't tell them his real name- burst in, killed Keith and took his body to who knows where."

 **-X-X-X-**

 **A/N: Finally! It's been a while since I last updated this story, all the way back in May. Well, I admit I have been slacking off in times when I could have been writing further; I could have updated this story last week. Sorry to disappoint you guys. So, the next two updates will be on this story, meaning I'll put Dark Tails on hold for a while (sorry Dark Tails fans).**

 **P.S. in the chapter after the next... things will happen. I won't tell you what things.**

 **Read and enjoy.**

 **J.W.H. 10**


	18. Chapter 18

There was a time when Miles would have loved to live in the suburbs. Of course, that was six years ago, when he was still in Knothole and Robotnick still had the country under his iron boot. Knothole was not really all that bad a place; after all, they were safe there. But there was no appeal to living in a place where the only reason for living there was survival.

Also at that time, Fiona was still there with him. They often liked to talk about what the future held for them once they defeated and overthrew the fat tyrant; getting married and starting a family together in a nice suburban house was always the first thing that came to mind.

Miles sighed as he remembered those little talks. He was currently on his way to Gareth's parent's house. It was a lovely Saturday morning in the suburbs, with kids playing around and families getting together. _It could've been us, Fiona,_ the fox thought dreamily.

He pulled up at the Roberts' driveway and walked to the door. After ringing the doorbell he waited for a bit, when he heard a little spat from inside.

"Aren't you going to answer the door?"

"Can't you see I'm injured, Mom?"

"It's your shoulder, not your feet! And take them off the table!"

"I'm the patient, Mom. You know better than to make a patient exert himself."

"It's just the door!"

"Then you answer it."

There was the audible sound of a smack, followed by the thudding of angry footsteps towards the door.

An older looking female squirrel opened the door and donned a smile once she saw the visitor. "Miles! It's good to see you." She opened her arms out for a hug.

Miles gladly obliged her. "Good to see you too, Mrs. Roberts."

Mrs. Roberts ushered the fox in. "I take it you're here to see Gareth. He's been making a nuisance of himself since I brought him here." They entered the living room, where the squirrel in question was idly sitting on the couch watching TV. His legs were propped up on the coffee table; clearly he did not obey his mother's order. "The feet, Gareth!" She followed up her yell with another smack on his head.

"If you hit me, you'll only be making it worse and the longer I'll stay here." Gareth said in a sly tone.

Mrs. Roberts rolled her eyes and walked out of the room. "What a joy that will be for the both of us. I'll tell Victoria you're here, Miles." She said to the fox.

Miles sat himself on another couch. "How have you been holding up?"

Gareth pulled on his shirt's collar until the injured shoulder came into view. The swelling had gone down but he still had the stitches. "It's getting better. The doctor said the stitches can come off on Monday at the very least."

Miles nodded. "That's great. You feel any pain?"

"Only when I think of the things I can no longer do with two arms."

"Yeah, coz there are so many things you can do with two arms." Miles said sarcastically.

Gareth narrowed his eyes but shrugged his good shoulder in dismissal. "So how are things back at the agency? Bet you can get anything done with your crime fighting partner by your side, right?"

Miles had been dreading to tell Gareth this part. But before he could answer, a soft footfall greeted his ears and the smell of girly perfume wafted thrrough the air. A young, teenage female squirrel entered the room, talking animatedly when on her phone. When her eyes set upon the fox seated on the couch, she broke out into a wide grin.

"Miles!"

In an instant, Miles found himself enveloped in a bone crushing hug and his nostrils assaulted by girlish perfumes. "Good to see you too, Vicky." He choked out.

Vicky pulled away but still held the fox. "I missed you so much."

"Likewise." He lied.

It is worth noting that ever since she met him, Gareth's sister had an unrequited crush on Miles. The fox himself did not really know what drew her to him, other than his natural, boyish good looks. Gareth did like to make fun of her about it, considering the way she always made up one fantasy after another about her and Miles' lives together, and their age gap -she was sixteen compared to Miles' twenty-one-. That however did not stop her, and she maintained a belief that she would get married to him once she started college.

As for Miles, he treated her crush with indifference, mostly because he knew nothing of the sort was ever going to happen. Especially now that Fiona was back into his life; the girl with whom he _really_ wanted to start a family with.

Miles gently pried the young squirrel's fingers off his neck. She relented, but sat down on the couch next to him, her face-splitting grin ever present. That made the fox feel rather uncomfortable and he tried to find some excuse to make her leave. That came with her phone's constant beeping; she was probably too busy staring at him to even notice the sound of her own ringtone.

"Weren't you about to go somewhere?"

Only then did Vicky remember what she was doing prior to meeting Miles. "Oh!" She glanced at her phone and skimmed through the texts. "Oh! I forgot I have somewhere else to be."

Miles would have breathed a sigh of relief but could not when Vicky suddenly scooted even closer to him, her lips mere inches from his; had he opened his mouth, she would have taken the gesture the wrong way.

"I wish I could've stayed a bit more. Guess I'll see you later then, Miles." She turned to Gareth. "Bye, bro!" With that, Vicky got up and sashayed out the door, putting a little bit more sway in her hips.

Once she left, Miles reclined in his seat. "Will she ever get that I'm not into her?"

Gareth shrugged and changed the channel. The next channel was showing a live motorcycle race. "I don't know. I wonder why you didn't mention Fiona."

The very mentioning of her name reminded Miles that he was supposed to meet her later in the day. He arose to go. "Speaking of Fiona, I'm going to meet her later on."

"You're leaving now?" Gareth turned to the fox. He seemed upset at being left so soon.

"Well... yeah." Miles kind of felt bad about leaving his best friend.

"Oh come on, it gets really lonely being cooped up in this house without anyone my age to talk to." Gareth begged.

Miles sighed. "Fine. You can come with."

The squirrel's face lit up. "Thanks, man. You're a true friend. By the way, could you be an even bigger friend and run upstairs and get my shoes?"

 **-X-X-X-**

"So, she said she'd meet you here?" Gareth asked.

Miles and Gareth were seated at a table at an open air cafe, sipping smoothies. It was the place Miles had agreed to meet Fiona at, during their hour long video chat.

Miles nodded. "Yeah. Although I'm not sure she'll appreciate you third wheeling our date."

The squirrel smiled. "Don't worry, Miles. You won't even know I'm here."

"Forgive me, Gary, but I find that hard to believe, considering you can't seem to keep your mouth shut." Miles' face darkened.

Gareth's smile then turned sheepish. "Hey, you're not still mad about me spilling the beans about your little affair with Cream, are you?"

"Geez, you think?" Miles retorted with a roll of the eyes. "She said she's gonna punish me for it."

"Did she say how?" The squirrel's ears perked up.

"No."

Gareth snickered into his hand. "She's probably going to handcuff you to the bed naked and flog you."

"What?!" Miles was disgusted at the thought. In all of their sexual escapades which Fiona dominated, she had never tied him up, let alone flog him. "Sado-masochism is not part of our lovemaking routine. Maybe it's something you have done."

Gareth waved his hand dismissively as he sucked on his straw. "Nah. You know I don't like being dominated by women."

Miles did not want to continue the conversation so he remained silent... until the squirrel brought up another topic he did not want to discuss.

"By the way, you didn't tell me. Since I'm injured, are you now going solo or did you get someone new?"

Miles sucked his smoothy slowly, stalling on the question for a bit. "Actually, Gallard gave me a _temporary_ partner." He avoided using the word "new".

Still, it upset the squirrel. "What? I've only been injured a week and you're already flying with a new co-pilot? That's cold, man."

Miles rolled his eyes. "Dude, it's only temporary."

Gareth took a harsh slurp from his drink. "But then you might get too attached to him and kick me to the curb."

Miles rolled his eyes. "It's Chandler, dude."

"Gallard partnered you with _Chandler?_ " The squirrel asked, surprised. "He must be giving you hell."

How Miles wished he could confirm that. "On the contrary. He's actually been really helpful. But that doesn't mean anything alright? I'm pretty sure deep down, he still hates me."

"Thanks for the reassurance." Gareth said with sarcasm.

Another period of silence settled between them. Miles was constantly checking his phone in between sips, while Gareth was just tapping away at his. When he finished, he broke the silence again... with another unwelcomed topic.

"I know what you're thinking: 'what's taking her so long?' I'll tell you what. She got so pissed you cheated on her, she's getting revenge. Only the best part of her revenge is making you wait here, thinking she'll show up but in reality, she's probably getting pounded by twelve inches of hunky Mobian dick."

Miles just looked at the squirrel in derision. "Not a chance."

"What makes you think that?" Gareth asked, a sly smile on his face.

In response, the fox just smirked and kept looking at him. Gareth's smile faded and he raised his eyebrow. Only then did he see that Miles was not really looking at him, but rather, someone _behind_ him.

The squirrel turned in his chair and almost squeaked in surprise when he saw Fiona standing right behind him.

"Fiona! Uh... how long were you standing there?" He stammered.

Fiona smirked. "Long enough to here you say something about me 'getting pounded by twelve inches of hunky—'"

"OK, we get it!" Gareth interrupted her and turned his head away in embarrassment. He pretended to slurp his smoothy but he had emptied the cup moments ago.

Fiona then turned to the smiling fox. "Hey, you."

Miles stood up. "Hi." He walked up to her and they hugged. That was when Miles noticed the vixen was carrying a backpack behind her. "Hey, what's in the bag?"

Fiona whispered in his ear. "You'll find out tonight."

"If you two are gonna kiss, I can turn my head." The moment was ruined by none other than Gareth.

"Or we can lose the third wheel altogether." Fiona slyly retorted as she sat down.

But the squirrel still had another dig on his tongue. "Pu-lease. Even if I did leave, I know Miles can't kiss a girl in public. He's just too inhibited that way."

Miles narrowed his eyes. "Maybe I should've just left you at home, in the graceful company of your mother."

"Oh, you still live with your parents." Fiona asked in a very condescending tone.

Gareth was quick to deny. "Hell, no! I'm just staying there coz of this injury I got in action." He pulled his collar off his left shoulder to show his injury, still stitched but no longer swollen.

Almost instantly, the vixen's mind went back to that night at the warehouse, when Nika had nailed him in the shoulder with her throwing knife. She almost felt a pang of guilt but quashed it when she remembered that she had also saved him from certain death.

"...and my mom insisted I stay with her until I get better, even though I'm perfectly capable of looking after myself." Gareth finished explaining, though unbeknownst to him, the vixen had stopped listening.

Miles noticed her spaced out look and snapped his fingers in front of her face. "Hey, Fiona, you OK?"

Fiona blinked and shook her head. "Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine."

"Maybe a smoothy will light you up." The fox went inside to get her a drink, leaving her alone with Gareth.

The squirrel wasted no time in breaking the silence, but his topic of choice only added to the vixen's uncomfortable feeling. "So, Fiona, what do you do for a living?"

"Um... I don't really like discussing my job." She mentally slapped herself, knowing that definitely sounded suspicious.

"Why? It's nothing illegal, right?"

 _Oh, you've got to be kidding me,_ Fiona groaned in her head. She thought maybe she could piece together a convincing lie based on her experiences at the base "No. It's mostly just... building innovative technology. You know, like whatever you might think of."

Gareth seemed to buy it, as his interrogating look soon dissolved. "Really? So, in short, you work for a tech company?"

"Yeah, a tech company." Fiona mentally slapped herself for not thinking of such a simple explanation earlier. She just hoped Miles would hurry up with those smoothies before Gareth got even nosier.

"So, what's it called?" He was still getting nosier.

"Um... we haven't thought of a name yet. It's not that big a business." Fiona answered nonchalantly, hoping it would get the squirrel to dismiss the subject.

Not yet. "Is there any new technology your company is planning to release?"

"Uh... actually, my boss is rather confidential on that." Then an idea struck her on how to divert his attention from the topic, although she did not like it. "Usually he's too busy hitting on me."

"Oh, really now?" It worked. "A little affair behind Miles' back eh? Don't worry, your secret's safe with me... as long as I'm not drunk."

"I'm not sleeping with him." Fiona said in disgust. "I have never slept with anyone apart from Miles."

"Well, that's cute. You remained loyal whilst Miles had a little someone on the side." Gareth snickered.

Fiona did not want to talk about that any further. Although she did not show it, Miles' unfaithfulness burned her up. "Just don't _ever_ bring it up again."

Gareth was taken aback by her sudden change in tone. Somehow, it unnerved him. "Al- alright."

That was when Miles was showing up with three smoothies in his hands. "Sorry that took so long. The line was rather slow." He handed out the drinks and returned to his seat.

"So, Gareth, do you have any special lady in your life?" Fiona asked.

The squirrel almost choked on his smoothy. "What? Fuck no!" His reply had a few customers turning their heads his way.

Fiona was surprised by his rather vehement response. "Why? Are you anti-romantic? Or really bad at dating."

Gareth scowled. "It's a long story, alright. And I don't like talking about it."

Fiona turned to Miles, who was all too happy to explain. "His girlfriend broke his heart back in high school."

"We promised to never bring that up again." Gareth growled at the fox.

"You're one to talk." Miles' said in a not so jovial voice.

Gareth understood what he meant. He sighed in resignation. "Fine. Brace yourself, Fiona, for the sad love story of Gareth Wayne Roberts. It was back in high school, when the football captain threw a party after the school won some trophy..."

 **-*-FLASHBACK-*-**

 **Note: Miles and Gareth are sixteen.**

"Dude, is this your first time at a wild party?" Miles asked Gareth as soon as they entered the house. Their ears were immediately assaulted by loud electro-dance music and wild screams.

"No." Gareth replied, his eyes immediately scanning the sea of partying teens.

"Then why are you trembling?" Miles gestured towards the squirrel's shaking hands.

"I'm trembling with excitement!" was Gareth's enthusiastic reply. "Tonight is the night Lisa and I finally lose our virginities!"

"Yippy for you." Miles rolled his eyes.

"I know, right?" In his excitement, Gareth did not catch the fox's sarcastic tone. "By the way, can you give me some pointers on how to, you know... go at it without hurting her?"

"Excuse me?" Miles turned to the squirrel with a look of disgust.

Gareth scratched the back of his head nervously. "Well... since you've had some experience... popping Cream's cherry and all, I thought you'd, you know, tell me what to expect when I... do it."

Miles cracked a smile. "She's gonna feel pain no matter what, dude." He found himself actually feeling for his friend. After all, it was Gareth's first time. "Alright, I'll give you this: just go slow but don't stop, no matter how much she winces and tells you to. OK?"

A timid smile of assurance spread across Gareth's muzzle. "OK. Thanks, man."

"Good luck." Miles meant for it to sound genuine but he could not help but add a bit of condescension. He fist bumped his friend and then went off into the crowd to look for his own girlfriend.

"Right. Time to find my lady and deflower her 'innocence'." Gareth looked around for what must have been the tenth time but could still not locate Lisa. How hard was it to find a squirrel who always had a trace of pink on her clothing, a ponytail and always seemed to walk around with her cheerleading entourage?

He went from the living room to the den. It was quieter there, mostly because the teens in there were too busy engaged in drinking games, making out and groping each other or just passed out on the floor. Still no sign of Lisa though.

As he was leaving the den, he bumped into one of her friends. "Hey, Grace, have you seen Lisa?"

"Oh, Gareth! Just the person I was looking for. Lisa said to meet her upstairs, in the last room to the left." Grace pointed up the stairs.

"Thanks." Gareth then started to push his way in the direction of the stairs.

"She said to hurry!" Grace shouted to him.

The squirrel almost shook with anticipation as he practically flew up the stairs. He passed the different rooms in the hallway -almost each had the telltale sounds of sex coming from the other side but he ignored them. _That's gonna be me soon enough,_ he thought.

Soon, Gareth was standing right outside the door when his nervousness instantly kicked in again. He took a few relaxing breaths. "Calm down, Gareth. She's just a virgin like you. She's probably just as scared as you are."

He cracked his knuckles, put a confident smile on his face and opened the door.

"Well, hello-" his eyes went wide and his heart seemed to seize up with what he saw before him.

There was Lisa, his girlfriend, on her back, naked, legs spread wide... with a lion on top of her, slowly thrusting into her recently deflowered pussy. Her silent moans would have been music to the squirrel's ears had it been him on top of her but rather, they sounded like a raven's screech.

Gareth did not hide his rage. "WHAT THE FUCK?!"

Both Lisa and the lion turned their heads to the door, the former with shock on her face, which quickly dissolved into a sardonic smile.

"Gareth. Just the Mobian I wanted to see me. Like _this_." Lisa punctuated her sentence by thrusting her ass upwards, driving the lion's dick deeper into her.

Gareth's eyes narrowed; mostly because tears were threatening to fall out. "Lisa... how could you... I thought I was your boyfriend..." rage started to seep in. "I was supposed to be the one to break your virginity!" he then softened as grief took over. "I thought we were gonna lose it together."

Lisa motioned for the lion to get off her and she sat up, although she held up the blanket to cover her breasts. "Gareth, you sweet, little naive squirrel. You know I like the bad boys. And you just weren't bad enough for me."

Gareth's rage returned with a vengeance. "YOU KNOW PRETTY WELL WHAT LENGTHS I WENT TO PROVE THAT, YOU LITTLE SKANK!" He advanced on her.

"Cool it, bro." The lion spoke for the first time. His tone was menacing as he stood up from the bed.

Gareth halted his advance. He did not know what scared him the most: the lion's broad, muscular physique and flexing muscles or his semi erect blood-tipped dick hanging in the open. The lion was, after all, part of the football team and could easily break him, like his heart. The squirrel backed away.

"Aw, he's scared. Now, get out! We were in the middle of something." Lisa sneered and returned on her back.

"Sucks to be you, bro," was the lion's parting shot as he returned on top of the female squirrel.

Gareth was seething with rage as he slammed the door but his eyes burned with tears.

 **-X-X-X-**

"Oh, you poor thing." Fiona said with real sympathy.

Gareth kept his eyes down as he slurped the last of his smoothy. "Lisa taught me a very valuable life lesson that day: show your emotions to girls and they will just find a way to hurt you."

"Well I beg to differ-" Miles started but the squirrel interrupted him.

"I also learned to never love a girl with _all_ my heart. That's just being foolish."

"So you've never had another girlfriend ever since?" Fiona asked.

"I have had other girlfriends but it's never been anything serious." Gareth replied with a shrug.

"I take it you're still a virgin then?" the vixen smirked.

"What?! Oh, fuck no!" Gareth looked offended. "I've actually lost count of the number of girls I slept with."

"That's a bit of an exaggeration." Miles mumbled.

"OK, let me get this straight. Ever since you got your heart broken, you've only dated girls for sex?" Fiona's voice carried a hint of disgust.

Gareth became defensive. "Hey, don't judge me. If you felt the pain like I did, you'd have probably done the same thing."

"I don't really think about such things since they will never happen to me." Fiona shrugged.

"Oh, yeah. Coz you let your boyfriend walk away scot free after he cheats on you."

Fiona's eyes shifted towards Miles. "He's not getting away scot free." She smirked when she saw his face pale. "But what I have in store for him is completely between him and me."

"Will it be painful?" Gareth asked, a hint of a smile creeping onto his muzzle. He did not want to start making suggestions but hoped Fiona would mention the very same things he thought in his head.

"That's for him to find out." Her smirk widened when she heard Miles gulp.

"Alright then..." Gareth took out his phone and checked the time. "Well, I have to get home. It's almost twelve and my mom likes us to eat together as a family."

"OK. It was nice talking to you and listening to your sad love story." Fiona giggled.

The squirrel rolled his eyes. "Hey, Miles, could you drive me home?"

 **-X-X-X-**

Miles and Fiona spent the rest of the day enjoying each other's company and by nightfall, Fiona decided they go see a movie at a drive-in theatre. Miles thought it was a good idea until he saw what the movie was about.

It was about a man who always had the misfortune of dating unfaithful women. When he found out about their infidelities, he was overcome with so much rage, he ended up murdering them and their boyfriends, sometimes on the spot, other times he would act like he's cool with it, only to kill them on a different day; all the while, the police were running around in circles. In the end, he eventually found his true love, confessed his past doings to her and she suggested he come clean to the authorities. The movie ended with the couple driving away together with the man's voice-over still debating on whether he should turn himself in or just forget about it. **(Don't know if such a movie actually exists, but if it does, it's purely coincidental.)**

Miles turned to Fiona with a look. "Is this a hint of what you're gonna do to me?"

Fiona played dumb. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Miles."

The fox rolled his eyes. "Come on, Fiona, cut the crap. The whole movie was about the consequence of being unfaithful. And just this morning, you were talking about punishing me for my 'unfaithfulness'." He air-quoted the word.

"It's just a coincidence, silly." The vixen giggled. "Do you really think I'd kill you for cheating on me?"

"No, but whatever it is, I'm sure it's just as worse. You did say you were furious about it. The last time you were furious, you put someone in intensive care." Miles shuddered at the memory.

"Hey, we both know he deserved it." Fiona countered. "Alright, just to prove it's not gonna be all that 'extreme', I'll buy you a drink, OK?"

Miles could only nod and mutter a barely audible "K"; probably still thinking about the last time she was truly enraged. Well, she couldn't blame him. Her mind momentarily drifted back to that day, when she beat a wolf half to death. The doctors said he was lucky to still have both his lungs working.

The vixen got out of the car and walked to the concession stand. She went to the bar and bought two smoothies, one red and the other, blue. However, before she returned to the car, she stopped at an unoccupied table and put the drinks down. From her jean's side pocket, she took out a small bottle of a pale yellowish liquid she had bought that morning prior to meeting Miles. She opened the red cup that was meant for Miles and added a few drops of the potent liquid. Closing the cup once more, she gently shook it until she was sure the liquid had completely diffused into the drink. With that done, she made her way back to the car.

"What took you so long?" Miles asked as he pocketed his phone.

"There were so many choices." Fiona lied. She offered Miles the red smoothy.

The fox shrugged and took the cup. "So, no hard feelings right?"

"None whatsoever, baby." Fiona smiled falsely.

After bumping their cups together, Miles slurped his drink almost halfway. "Hmm... tastes kinda funny?"

Fiona chuckled. "Like sleepy funny?" She took the cup from his shaking hand, lest he drop its contents all over himself.

Miles gave her a weird look. "What? What are you-" all of a sudden, his eyelids felt really heavy and exhaustion hit him like a bat to the head. The world seemed to rock from side to side and then become blurry. In a second, his eyes closed and his head slumped forward onto the steering wheel.

A light snore emanated from his mouth.

Fiona grinned to herself. "Perfect."

 **-X-X-X-**

 **A/N: Finally! It feels good to get this chapter out after about four months out with school Dark Tails and just plain laziness. Sorry I kept you waiting for so long but school is now taken care of. Now I'll have my stories as the only things keeping me busy.**

 **A little spoiler. The next chapter will be nothing but a lemon from start to finish.**

 **Please read and enjoy.**

 **J.W.H. 10**


	19. Chapter 19

"Oh... man."

Miles groaned groggily as he opened his eyes. Finding his vision blurry, he shut them again and turned his head left and right.

"What the fuck happened?" The fox asked himself as he once again tried to open his eyes. This time, he could see more clearly.

He saw that he was back in his apartment. And on his own bed.

"Did Gary get me drunk?" His memory was a little fuzzy. He could not remember anything that happened before. But if Gareth did get him drunk, he knew the squirrel would not be courteous enough to carry him all the way to his room.

As his head cleared some more, Miles then became aware of sounds coming from the living room. Apparently someone was in there, watching TV.

Miles then tried to get up but to his surprise, he found that he could not move his right hand. Or his left. He turned his head both sides and saw that both his hands were tied to the bedposts with pink ropes.

"What the fuck?!"

The fox then glanced down at himself and saw that he was only clad in his boxers. A feeling of dread began to creep up on him.

"Oh, shit!"

He began to struggle against the ropes, furiously trying to snap them but they held fast. His struggling was shaking the entire bed, making some noise. Surely whoever was there with him must have heard the noise, for the TV's sounds switched off and his sharp ears picked up a soft footfall coming from the hallway. He braced himself for the appearance of his kidnapper, or worse, potential molester, whoever it was.

A figure appeared at the doorway and slowly stalked towards him. Judging by the extra sway of the hips, Miles guessed it was a female. And she looked oddly familiar...

"Gee, I thought you'd never wake up."

Once her face came into the light of his bedside lamp, could Miles finally see that it was none other than Fiona.

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Fiona. Damn it, girl, you scared me."

"Really? Well, that's a bonus." The vixen giggled.

"What the hell happened?" Miles shook his head, trying to remember.

"I put some sleeping drops in your smoothy." Fiona bluntly explained. "After you fell asleep, I brought you here, stripped you to your boxers and tied you up to your bed."

"Why the fuck would you do that?" Miles shook against the ropes once more. In the past, Fiona showed a rather twisted sense of humour, playing strange jokes on him that he never really found funny. They would resolve those kinds of misunderstandings with heavy making out and a very one sided bout of lovemaking.

"Don't you get it, Miles?" Fiona moved further into the light. "This is your punishment."

That was when Miles could see that the vixen was only clad in a skimpy little bathrobe that barely covered her boobs and thighs. He could have sworn he saw a hint of black panties underneath. In different circumstances, that would have turned him on but as of now, his mind thought of a more horrifying scenario. He remembered Gareth's teasing words that Fiona would probably flog him as his penance. While he did not really dwell on the thought too much, seeing Fiona standing there with her trademark smirk which she donned every time she had him at his mercy, he could most definitely feel that scene playing out tonight.

The fox gulped and broke into a cold sweat. "You're... you're not gonna flog me, are you?"

"Flog you?" For a moment, Fiona's smirk disappeared in confusion, only for it to return when she caught his meaning. "Of course not, sweetie. Why would I want to scar the very same body I fell in love with?"

Miles finally relaxed. "Whew, that's a relief."

"You of all people should know that's not my favourite kind of sex." Fiona seductively started to move towards him.

"Then why did you tie me up?" Miles asked, shaking his bound hands once more.

"Well... for starters, it's to leave you helpless." The vixen seductively bit her bottom lip.

Miles still did not understand. "Helpless how, exactly?"

Fiona stopped at the foot of the bed. "Oh, you'll see. Now, let's get started."

Once on the mattress, the vixen slowly crawled towards him on her hands and knees. Her seductive nature quickly had Miles stirring in his loins. A quick glance at his crotch saw the bulge in his boxers engorge. But Fiona did not see it as her head was at his chest area, then neck, until she was level with his own.

"You look so cute when you get horny." Fiona said as she straddled him, right on top of his erection. She then stuck her tongue out and licked his muzzle, while grinding on his dick. When he opened his mouth to let out a moan, she slipped her tongue in.

Miles accepted the kiss and met Fiona's tongue with his own. They battled for dominance in his mouth, all the while Fiona still rubbed her crotch on his dick. She could feel it twitch with every beat of his heart, straining in his boxers, just begging to be let out. The pressure made Miles moan onto Fiona's tongue as he finally surrender to her.

Fiona pulled away, a trail of saliva still connecting their mouths together. "Can't handle me, can you?"

"If my hands were free, I would." Miles retorted.

"Oh, you're so feisty." Fiona chuckled and then moved down to his neck. She gave it a few kisses and then sucked on it like a vampire. She might as well have been one, as Miles could feel her fangs gently nipping at him. However, he was not in the least bit scared that she might bite a little too hard and puncture his artery. They were always careful with each other when giving love bites.

Fiona then slid down to his chest. Miles moaned lightly as the vixen licked and sucked on his nipples. She lifted her head and smirked at him.

"These have always been one of your weak spots."

"You're one to talk, Fi. Set me free and I'll gladly return the favour." Miles returned a smirk of his own.

There was a hint of a blush when Miles mentioned her favourite nickname. She rose up and shifted a little down his legs, bringing his bulge into view.

"I'll set you free once I've made you suffer."

Miles chuckled. "Pu-lease. I've been enjoying myself the whole time." But as he said that, a voice in the back of his head scolded him for doing so.

Fiona smirked as she slowly ran her hands down Miles' chest and over his abs, before finally coming to rest on the bulge in his boxers. "That was me luring you into a false sense of security. Now, let's see if you'll enjoy what happens next." With that, she hooked her thumbs into the waistline of his boxers and slowly pulled them down. Miles' dick sprang free like a spring loaded trap. Once the boxers came off, Fiona stood up on the bed with Miles between her. She slowly undid her robe before finally opening it up, revealing her nude body to her boyfriend.

At least she was not wearing any black lingerie.

Miles' breath caught. It was like he was seeing her naked for the first time. Sure he had seen her body countless times and had memorized every inch of it, but there was always something about the way she presented herself to him that always made it seem like it was the first time. A rush of blood made his dick pulse with desire.

Fiona's smirk was ever present as she revelled in Miles' awed gaze. "Like what you see, baby?" She grabbed her boobs and lifted them before giving them a squeeze.

Miles could only utter a zombie-like "wow".

That made the vixen giggle. "Bet you wish to grab them, right?" She resumed her straddling position, only this time, Miles' dick was nestled in between her ass.

"Uh, huh." The fox could barely blink as those glorious mounds of flesh bounced before his very eyes.

"Well too bad! Coz that's part of your punishment: you get to look but not touch."

Those words made Miles snap out of his reverie. "So you're like a museum artefact?" He smiled to himself when he saw Fiona's smirk disappear at his little jibe.

But it soon returned when Fiona grabbed his dick from behind her. "And you're like my toy." She slowly started to stroke him up and down. Her smirk widened when Miles started to squirm and moan. Fiona then moved down his body until the dick was in front of her, so that she could wrap her hand around it properly. Pre-cum started to ooze out of the tip and it took the vixen a great deal of willpower to not lick it off.

"Fi... oh..." Miles' breathing accelerated. He bit his bottom lip to keep his moaning down but Fiona knew just how to coax them out.

"Oh no, you don't. I wanna hear those little moans come out of your mouth." The vixen made some circular motions on his head with her finger, smearing the pre-cum around it, whilst she continued to stroke him.

Miles could not help it but let out a loud moan.

"That's better." She increased the speed of her jerks and that only served to make Miles moan louder and squirm more violently.

"Oh, Fiona... I'm getting close... uh..." The fox moaned.

"Just what I wanted to hear." And just like that, she stopped.

"What the-?" Miles growled as the pleasure gradually subsided. "I didn't cum yet."

"Yeah, that's all part of the punishment. _You_ can't make yourself cum. Only _I_ can." Fiona's smirk bordered on sadistic.

It was then that Miles understood Fiona's punishment: she was going to leave him blue-balled and helpless to relieve himself.

"Oh, you despicable little minx." He growled. He fought the urge to struggle against the ropes, because that would have definitely made him look even more desperate.

By now, Miles' dick was oozing pre-cum like drool.

Fiona straddled him and watched as his chest rose and fell with each heavy breath he took. "You look so cute when you're pent up."

Miles rolled his eyes. "Can we just get this over with?" He was too sexually frustrated to throw in any sexual quips.

"Hey, I'm calling the shots here." The vixen leaned down and planted another wet kiss on Miles' lips. She then crawled down his body until her face was mere inches away from his twitching, hard dick. By then, the pre-cum had started to run down his shaft in small rivulets.

"What do we have here?" She whispered to herself as she grabbed it and gave it a few strokes, coaxing out a few more drops. The scent was making her head spin and her already wet pussy tingled as her own juices started to leak.

Sticking out her tongue, Fiona gave the tip a sampling lick."Mmm, tasty." Then she took it into her mouth.

Miles' breath hitched as the pleasure returned. Once again, he found himself staring at the ceiling and moaning for all he was worth. He would have certainly liked to grab the back of her head and make her go at a pace he would prefer, but the ropes prevented that. He was completely at the mercy of his girlfriend's sexual ministrations.

The fox glanced down at Fiona's head, which was bobbing up and down. Slurping sounds came from her mouth as she sucked on his tip, trying to get more pre-cum out of him. He was totally lost in the pleasure of it all.

"Oh, Fiona... don't stop."

In response, Fiona sped up her sucking and slurping. She added some extra stimulation by moaning on his dick. The vibrations threatened to send Miles over the edge. He was getting close. Just a few more sucks and...

With a pop, Fiona released his dick from her mouth. "Uh, uh, uh. Not yet."

"Oh, fuck!" Miles yelled in frustration. His sweaty chest rose and fell with rapid breaths. "Why, you-"

"Go on. Say it. I dare you." Fiona's smirk became challenging.

Miles shut his mouth. He had learned before never to try and call the vixen's bluff, especially when he's at her mercy.

"You know you're only teasing yourself too, Fi. I can smell your juices from here."

True, Fiona's pussy was already dripping wet like a leaky pipe. All the teasing and dick sucking also had nearly as much of effect on her as him. Although she would not admit it, her pussy was also crying out for attention. She was just as horny as he was and she needed release.

"Alright, Miles." The vixen turned around and nestled Miles' erection in the warmth of her ass-cheeks.

Miles automatically bucked upwards as his dick received some attention. "You're gonna make me cum like this?"

Fiona turned her head around and smirked at him. "Hey, beggars can't be choosers." She then started to rub her butt against his dick.

"I just want my dick to be surrounded by a different kind of warmth."

"You mean your hand?"

Miles' eyes narrowed. "No. I mean something warm and wet."

"Your hand with lube?"

Miles growled in annoyance. "Fine. Just continue."

The vixen resumed her ministrations on him. The sight of her ass moving up and down, back and forth around his dick was torture to Miles. How he wished his hands were free so that he could indulge himself in squeezing and smacking it. On the bright side, he was still getting pleasured. But what's pleasure without indulgences? He half-heartedly tested the ropes one more time; they still held firm.

As for Fiona, despite her dominance, was actually trying not to submit to her desires. She was super horny and was resisting the temptation to rise just high enough for Miles' dick to slip in between her pussy lips. But she just held out for a little longer. Soon, she would have punished Miles enough to get the message through to him. As she increased her speed of her grinding, so did Miles' moans. She knew he was getting closer; it was one of the best things of their relationship: they always knew when the other would cum.

Just as Miles' moans escalated into gasps, Fiona stopped her grinding and removed his dick from her crack.

"Oh, come on!" Miles yelled so loud, he was sure the neighbours must have heard him. Who cared? They did not know his pain.

Fiona turned around and beheld her boyfriend. She revelled in his defeated state: deep breaths of pent up sexual frustration, a sweaty body, eyes clouded by horniness and a twitching dick just crying out for sex. "I think I've blue balled you enough." She ran her hand down Miles' shaft to his balls. "I could swear they've doubled in size."

Miles growled at her. "Just untie me and leave. I'll finish myself." His voice was husky.

"I could, but I also have the same itch that needs to be scratched." With that, Fiona straddled him once more. It was then that Miles could see just how horny the vixen was. Her pussy was so wet, he thought she might have peed herself. Her clit stuck out like a bud, just begging for stimulation. At least he was lucky to have been receiving some. In Fiona's moment of punishing him, she had completely ignored her own sexual want. But all that was about to change now.

Fiona grabbed Miles' dick and positioned it below her entrance. She was too horny to rub it against herself and immediately started to sink down onto it. The moment she felt that long piece of hard meat penetrate her, she let out a long, drawn out moan and her chest shot out; it felt just like her first time. Further and further she sank until she was completely filled.

Breathing heavily, Fiona looked down at Miles, who was breathing just as heavily. "Feel better?" She asked huskily.

"I'll feel a hell of a lot better when you start moving." Miles retorted.

Fiona was too horny to reply and obliged. Leaning forward, she began to slowly move up and down Miles' dick.

Soon, the room was filled with their moaning: Fiona's loud, drawn out ones and Miles' few and far between sighs. Their eyes were locked together and they instantly lost themselves. It was like they had sent a telepathic message between each other, one that would always spur them on:

" _I love you."_

From there, Fiona lifted herself straight and rode Miles harder. With her eyes closed, she arched her back towards the ceiling and moaned loudly. Her hands went to her boobs, squeezing and kneading them tightly.

Miles stared at her which a touch of envy. _Those should be_ my _hands giving her tits attention._ He was unfortunately robbed of the use of his hands by the vixen's bonds. As she continued to squeeze her breasts and moan at the ceiling while she rode him, he thought that was her way of mocking him further as part of her "look but do not touch punishment". But he did not care. Sex with Fiona, in whatever way, was always amazing, even when she was on top.

Fiona momentarily stopped, her breathing heavy, to shift to a squatting position. Once again, she positioned her hands either side of her boyfriend and then continued to pound him. This time, in addition to their moans, the room was filled with the slapping sounds of ass on lap, as well as the wet sounds of Miles' dick repeatedly exiting and re-entering her pussy. The sounds were a turn on to both of them and only served to elevate their need for sexual release.

Soon, Fiona's moans became longer and her pounding more pronounced. It was pretty clear she was close to her orgasm. Her pussy juices ran down Miles' shaft and pooled around his crotch area. Miles could feel his approaching as well. But his head did not fully get lost in the pleasure; a small part of logic still reminded him of the most important detail.

 _Do not cum inside her._

"Uh... Fiona... wait."

His words fell on deaf ears as the vixen was completely shut out from the rest of the world. Her orgasm hit her like a bucket of water. She screamed at the ceiling in pure bliss. Her whole body was bathed in white hot pleasure. Her pussy was shook with multiple spasms as her juices gushed out, covering her boyfriend's crotch and abdomen in her essence.

As the rhythmic contractions of Fiona's pussy massaged his dick, Miles' sense of logic was totally shut out. He clenched his teeth as he felt his balls contract, finally able to empty themselves. His dick pulsed with every spurt of sperm that he shot deep into his girlfriend's womb. At that moment, it did not matter to him that he might have gotten Fiona pregnant. What mattered was that he had finally came.

Fiona moaned one last time as she collapsed on top of her boyfriend's chest. She was still breathing deeply as she recovered from one hell of an orgasm. The sound of his beating heart would have lulled her to sleep had he not called out her name.

"Fiona..."

The vixen lifted her head to gaze up into his eyes, which looked partly glazed over. He looked so cute like that. She could not help it and very tenderly rubbed his cheek. "You looked just like that the day we first had sex."

Miles would have wrapped his hands around her, caressed her body... especially her belly. "I think I... might have planted our baby in you."

"Hmm?" Fiona raised her eyebrow but then remembered she did not give him a chance to pull out. "Oh! That." She lifted herself up until his dick popped out, followed by a small amount of their mixed love juices. "I guess I forgot to tell you. I started taking the pill."

"Oh. OK." Miles did not know whether to feel relieved that he did not knock Fiona up or upset that she probably did not think it best for them to start a family then. "It would've been nice though."

"Let's not think that far ahead, OK?" Fiona leaned down for a kiss. She then pulled away, got off him and went into the bathroom. She later returned with some toilet paper, which she used to wipe off the cum on his abdomen. After she finished, she balled it up and tossed it into a nearby wastepaper bin.

"So, have you learned your lesson?" The vixen asked as she got on top of her boyfriend once more.

"Yes. I'll never cheat on you, ever again." Miles said with a roll of the eyes. Physically, he had got the message loud and clear; he did not want to be saying it out loud.

"Good." Fiona leaned down for another make out session. Whilst Miles was distracted, she unsheathed her index claws and raked them over the ropes just over his wrists, careful not to cut his skin.

Miles could now breathe a sigh of relief as he was finally able to move his hands. He wasted no time running them all over her body: caressing her back, squeezing her boobs, rubbing her ass... he got hard again in no time.

As they parted for air, the fox had a smirk on his lips. "But..." grabbing Fiona's hips, he flipped them over, putting him on top in between her legs, getting a little squeak of surprise out of her. "I'm gonna have to inflict a little payback of my own, coz I feel like you overdid it a little."

"And what do you have in mind?" Fiona asked with a rather horny voice, her pussy already drooling in anticipation of what was sure to come.

"You'll just have to find out." Miles said and kissed her before she could say anything else. He parted her lips with his tongue and she all too willingly accepted him, meeting him with her own tongue. As they explored each other's mouths, Miles slowly lowered his hand towards Fiona's pussy. His fingers lightly brushed her clit and he smiled at her reaction.

Fiona moaned and arched her pelvis outward. "Hey, no fair." She spread her legs whilst reaching for Miles' dick. All that making out had her in the mood for more.

"Uh, uh, uh." Miles playfully shook his head whilst grabbing both her hands and placing them either side of her head, pinning them down.

"Ooh, a little vindictive, are we?" Fiona giggled.

Miles grinned. "A little." He then leaned in closer. "This time, it's on _my_ terms."

With her hands still pinned, Fiona watched as Miles' tails rose from behind him and made their way to her pussy. She felt one of them slowly pry it open, while the other slowly rubbed her clit. She bucked against him, trying to match the rhythm of his strokes.

"Oh, Miles." She moaned.

The fox smiled and then penetrated her with both his tails; just the tips went in. He smiled when she gave off a stronger jerk and moaned. A wicked idea then struck him. Removing one of his namesakes out of her, he used it to continue stroking her clit whilst the other continued to lightly fuck her.

"Oh, Miles... please... I want you... now."

That was just what Miles wanted. To see her that helpless. With a smirk, he withdrew his tails from her pussy and then positioned his throbbing dick. But first, he decided to tease her some more by rubbing the tip up and down her slit.

That proved to be the last straw. "Goddamit, Miles, just do me already!" The vixen yelled at him.

"OK." Miles then pushed into her, sighing with content at once again being enveloped in her hot, tight and wet pussy.

"Finally." Fiona moaned. As soon as Miles released her hands, they were instantly flung around his neck and at the same time, she wrapped her legs around his waist. "Make me cum."

With the vixen already craving hardcore sex, Miles started off a little too roughly, pounding into her so hard, the bed squeaked and struck the wall behind it. At that moment, he did not care if the neighbours could hear the noise and probably complain about it in the morning. What mattered was giving his girlfriend a mind blowing orgasm.

Fiona's hands shifted from Miles' neck to her back. In the bliss of her mind, each thrust seemed to send her flying. She could not imagine any happier moment than the one right there. It became all the more clear that no boy could ever satisfy her the way Miles did (no that she would ever try another boy). Even in the way he made love to her, he knew just where to touch, how much pressure to apply and where exactly to hit her to get her off.

He was doing that just now.

"Oh... yes... uh... right there, baby... yes... harder... deeper... yes!"

Her moans only helped to make him go faster. He was pounding into her relentlessly now, almost going all the way out to plunge into her again. And again. And again.

"Yes... oh, baby, I'm cumming!"

That was all she remembered saying, for after that, it was all a blur. She screamed in pleasure as she clutched her boyfriend tighter. An even powerful orgasm shook her body and her pussy squirted out even more juices. Her body shook with the power of it all.

Even in that wave of pleasure, she could hear Miles grunt as he found his own release. His dick pulsed inside her and she felt his warm sperm flow into her womb. She loved that feeling. In addition to being sexually satisfied, she also felt _full._

Miles pulled out and rolled to the side, breathing heavily. He turned to Fiona and saw her breathing just as heavily as he, with her eyes closed and a content smile on her face. She moved closer and cuddled up next to him.

"That was awesome." She said. With her sexual hunger now satisfied, sleep overtook her easily. "Love you."

Miles smiled and gently stroked her messed up hair. "I love you, too."

But Fiona was already asleep.

 **-X-X-X-**

 **A/N: Wow. Just wow. This has got to be the longest lemon I've ever written... who am I kidding? It is! There's a whole page that is nothing but lemon! (if you look at the document).**

 **Anyways, I really enjoyed writing this and I hope you guys enjoy reading it. Next up, Dark Tails.**

 **J.W.H. 10**


	20. Chapter 20

Miles awoke to the sound of water running. He rose into a sitting position and stretched his stiff body, getting a few pops in his joints. He felt sticky in his crotch area and could only attribute that to a certain vixen who was currently taking a shower. All on her own.

Smiling to himself, the fox got up and walked to the bathroom. In the translucent glass shower, he could just make a nude vixen running her hands through her hair. Miles simply slid the door open and stepped in with her. Fiona seemed to ignore him so he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind.

"You started without me."

"You looked so peaceful I didn't want to disturb you." Fiona replied while looking back at him.

Miles raised an eyebrow. "Really now? And you weren't planning on secretly leaving me like last time?"

"After last night? I have to consider myself fortunate to still be able to stand." The vixen slowly leaned into him.

"It was just two rounds, Fi. Am I becoming too much for you to handle." Miles moved his hands up to Fiona's breasts, giving them a gentle squeeze.

The vixen placed her hands over his. "Oh, please. You couldn't even handle a little teasing."

"That's because you tied me up and left me helpless. Besides..." Miles spun her around and pushed her against the wall. "You also couldn't handle _my_ teasing. And it made you horny again right after I made you cum." He smiled to himself. "I deserve five stars."

Fiona rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Are we going to take a shower now? Or are you still going to brag about yourself while you waste water."

"So? I'm the one who pays for it. The bigger question is: is this water, or 'something else' running down your thighs." Miles snaked a finger down to her pussy.

Fiona gasped and batted his hand away. "Stop that. I'm not in the mood for a morning delight."

Miles held up his fingers, which were coated in the vixen's sticky juices. "This says otherwise."

Fiona blushed and looked away. "That... was involuntary." Her voice betrayed her.

"Playing 'hard to get' are we?" Miles smirked before leaning in and kissing her softly. Fiona returned the kiss with equal passion.

Eventually, he pulled away. "Now, are you in the mood?"

Fiona giggled. "No."

Miles knew she was just faking it but decided to play along. He moved on to the vixen's neck, giving her small love bites. She bit her lip to keep her moans down but Miles was just doing a damn good job. Then he went down to her breasts, sucking on one while caressing the other, occasionally switching. Fiona found herself succumbing to her boyfriend's magic touch which all but confirmed that no one would ever satisfy her the way he does.

"How about now?"

"You're gonna have to do better than that." Fiona replied, her eyes closed... but they shot open as she gasped in pleasure and looked down to see Miles' latest sexual act.

The fox was currently squatting down, his tongue licking away at her pussy, while his hands went to her ass to keep her in place. She could not help but moan even louder and thrust her pelvis out when he made contact with her clit.

"Un... OK, OK! Oh... Now I'm in the mood!" She cried out.

Miles stood up, smirking. "You just wanted me to lick your pussy, didn't you?"

"Maybe... are you gonna continue or are you just gonna stand there grinning like a virgin who just got his first peek up a girl's skirt."

Miles shut off the water and picked Fiona up bridal style. He carried her back to the bedroom and laid her on the bed.

"Won't you get your sheets wet?" She asked.

Miles simply shrugged. "Even if we had dried off, they'd still get _wet_."

Fiona blushed when she caught on to what Miles was implying. "Right. Now, where were you...?" She asked while spreading her legs.

Miles went in between her legs. Using his thumbs, he spread the vixen's pussy lips, exposing her glistening pink love canal and her erect clit. He moved in and ran his tongue over her pussy, making her moan and thrust out. "Mm, tasty."

"Just start eating me out already!" Fiona moaned, grabbing the fox's head and forcing him back in.

"OK." Spreading her pussy even further, Miles inserted his tongue inside and swirled it around. Fiona thrust her pelvis out as she moaned, staring at the ceiling.

"Oh... Uh... yes... right there... oh yes... right there, baby... don't stop."

The vixen grabbed Miles' head to keep him in place. She started to slowly grind on his face as her juices oozed into the fox's mouth. Miles then started to nibble on her clit; she gasped and tightened her grip on his head.

"You're gonna make me cum." Fiona moaned.

Miles only sped up his ministrations until Fiona screamed out her climax. He felt the vixen's pussy squeeze his tongue and a rush of pussy juice squirt into his open mouth. He could not swallow it in time and some of it coated his muzzle. Other stray shots even got onto his sheets.

Once Fiona had calmed down and relaxed her grip on his head, Miles moved up her body until he was level with her flushed face. She wrapped her arms around his neck and brought him down for a little make out session, her tongue wandering into his mouth to taste herself. Then she pulled away and licked around his muzzle, cleaning whatever missed his mouth.

"You're such a messy eater, Miles. Getting your treat all over your face like a kid." The vixen mock-chided, like a mother scolding her child.

"Can you blame me if the treat comes faster than I can swallow?" Miles retorted. "You squirt a lot."

"Your tongue works wonders." Fiona said.

Miles got on his back. "Now you return the favour."

Fiona licked her lips as she beheld her boyfriend's erect dick pointing heavenwards. She grabbed it and gave him a few strokes and was rewarded with a moan and a few dribbles of pre-cum, which she happily lapped up. She then took the rest of him into her mouth and sucked him for a good minute until his dick felt really hard, like concrete. She popped him out of her mouth, only to straddle him.

"Don't you also want a treat?" Miles asked with a smile.

"I prefer it in my pussy." Fiona replied as she held him in place before sinking down on him.

Miles sighed in pleasure. "At least this time I get to touch." Without wasting any time, he reached up and caressed Fiona's breasts as she started to ride him.

Fiona leaned down and started to make out with her boyfriend. She moaned into his mouth as the pleasurable feeling continued to build. Miles' hands travelled to her ass, giving her cheeks a squeeze. His breathing accelerated as he could feel himself getting closer to his climax. He gave the vixen' ass a spank as to tell her to speed up. Fiona obliged him and increased the speed of her riding as she also felt her release approaching. When it finally hit, she screamed at the ceiling and thrust herself forward. Miles could feel her pussy tightly squeezing his dick and it was impossible not to cum afterwards. He gave a low growl as he released his sperm into her womb.

The vixen gave a moan of satisfaction as she felt herself being filled. She fell forward onto her boyfriend's chest, breathing just as heavily as he was. Raising herself slightly, she felt him come out of her, followed by their mixed fluids.

For a few moments, none of them said anything, instead they simply basked in the afterglow of another pleasurable lovemaking.

Then Miles decided to break the silence. "Hey, Fi."

"Mm?" The vixen answered without raising her head from his chest.

Miles gently placed his hands on both her cheeks, raising her head so that he was staring right into her sky blue eyes. "Move in with me."

Fiona gasped in surprise. "Wha-? Miles, I..." she did not really know what to say to that. It was not the suddenness of the request that made her hesitate with her answer. But rather, her recent ties. She was part of a criminal organization bent on destruction and conquest. On another day, when she was not in too deep in crime, she would have said yes in a heartbeat. But not now.

The vixen turned away. "I would love to, it's just... I don't feel like being in Mobotropolis right now."

Miles' face fell. From his perspective, there was only one reason she would refuse. "Is it coz of Sally?"

Fiona nodded. "Yes, definitely because of Sally." Lying to him stung worse. She had to at least get a half truth in. "And my job requires full time dedication."

That only served to compound her boyfriend's sadness.

"But hey, I still make time for you." The vixen put on a half smile, hoping it would cheer him up.

"Since when did you care what anyone said?" Miles suddenly asked. "Back at Knothole, you never used to play by the rules whenever we went out on missions."

In spite of herself, Fiona found herself welling up with tears. "I'm sorry." She could not believe that she was choosing crime over Miles. But she had to tell herself it was for the best. She could not move in with him when she was involved in crime. And to further compound her predicament, her mind was plagued with thoughts of what would happen if he ever found out.

"It's OK. No big deal." The vixen was brought back to reality when her boyfriend spoke. "You can move in when you're ready." He offered a half-smile, which did little to hide his disappointment and frustration.

Although it was not entirely convincing, Fiona was going to take whatever sign of happiness he could give. She leaned down and planted a soft kiss on his lips. It was nothing erotic, for she pulled away after a short while and got off him. "Now, how about we go take that shower?"

Miles swung his feet off the bed. "After you."

Fiona remained lying on the bed. She stretched her arms out. "Carry me."

 **-X-X-X-**

Fiona silently closed the door to the base's secret entrance. While she did not really care if someone would ask her whereabouts, she did not really want a confrontation right now. She was still reeling from lying to Miles and denying a proposal which she should have accepted in a heartbeat.

After they showered, Miles wanted to drive her to the bus station but she refused, yet more salt to her wound. And his. Surprisingly, he accepted it and they bade each other a reluctant goodbye at his door.

Fiona entered the main hall, which looked empty. She started to cross it on the way to her room.

"And where have you been?"

The vixen almost jumped at the sound of the voice. She quickly collected herself and turned to its source. "None of your business."

Snide slowly moved from the shadows. "Scourge was looking for you last night."

"Why? His own hands aren't good enough?" the vixen retorted.

"We're nearing what he said would be the biggest mission we would ever do. Some of us might not make it out alive." The coyote moved until he was standing in front of the vixen. "If you wanna make it out alive, I suggest you prepare accordingly."

Fiona rolled her eyes. "I'm well aware of that. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go hit the gym."

Snide did not move out of the way. "I'm not moving unless you answer my question: where did you go?"

This earned a growl from the vixen. "The bigger question is this: should I go hit a punching bag, or use your face instead."

The coyote narrowed his eyes at her but went ahead and moved out of the way.

"That's what I thought." Fiona smirked and walked past him.

Once she was out of earshot, Snide mumbled to himself. "Scourge might think highly of you, Fiona, but I think otherwise."

 **-X-X-X-**

"So, what exactly are you inventing here?" Barry asked as he stood over a hands free magnifying glass. He was watching Scourge as the green hedgehog's hands were hard at work under it, tightening screws and connecting wires inside a small box-like device. The mouse was merely there because Scourge had wanted to teach him how to make the device. Also, he wanted someone to pass him whatever tools he needed.

"In simple terms, let's just call it an object transfer device." Scourge replied. "And it's not an invention. It once existed."

Barry raised his eye sceptically. "Really, now? Coz it sounds like something out of a science fiction movie."

The hedgehog laughed. "Well, where I'm from, these were common inventions. And this was considered basic science."

Barry raised his head in surprise. In all the time they had known each other, the mouse –or anyone else, for that matter- had never really gotten to ask where Scourge was from. Or hear his back-story. Why not start now?

"Hey, Scourge. You've never told us where you're from."

The green hedgehog paused in his work and looked up at Barry. The mouse thought he might have overstepped, for Scourge's reddish eyes narrowed momentarily, but once again, regained their blank expression.

"It doesn't matter. It was destroyed anyways." He said bluntly.

"What?"

Scourge sighed as he began to explain. He would have preferred telling this to Fiona first. "We were a technologically advanced... society. One day, out of nowhere, war broke out and the land was laid waste. Not a single person survived... except me."

"And what's the name of this place?"

"OK, stop asking questions. Let's just get this thing done. Now, you tighten over here..." Scourge returned his attention to the device.

Barry shrugged and returned to observing his master at work. This was the first time that Scourge had become open with anyone in their team but that was just about it. However, just that small amount of information had the mouse curious about Scourge's origins.

It took thirty more minutes but they were finally done.

"I'll admit it doesn't look like much." Barry stated as they were beholding their work. The device looked like a small box, only as big as a fist. On one side, there were two buttons: one red and the other green, and on another side, there was a small hole glowing with a purple light.

"It is rather unassuming, of course. But this box is able to absorb any object and release it at a different location. It will expedite our mission in acquiring those weapons. Now, to perform a test..." Scourge scanned the room, looking for anything to use the box on. His eyes fell on a desk. "That will do." He pressed a red button on the device and aimed it at the desk.

Barry's eyes widened in fascination as a beam of purple light was shot out of the hole, surrounding the desk. It appeared to vaporize the desk until there was nothing left. The light then turned off and the device beeped.

"Now, to release." Scourge said as he pressed the green button and aimed the device at any random spot. Once again, the beam of purple light shot out but this time, it materialized the desk. The hedgehog grinned from ear to ear. "It works!"

Just then, there was a knock at the door and Snide came in. "Hey, Scourge, can I talk to you privately?"

Scourge raised his eyebrow but nodded. "Barry, give us the room."

Once the mouse left, Snide went directly to the point. "I'm starting to doubt Fiona's loyalty to our cause."

The hedgehog narrowed his eyes. "What makes you think so?"

"Her rather odd behaviour." Snide explained. "Just today, she returned to base after having spent the night elsewhere. Doesn't that make you suspicious?"

Scourge paused momentarily. "Hmm... come to think of it, it _is_ rather suspicious. But Fiona has always been a free spirit. She doesn't let things like curfews get in the way of what she wants."

"She could be coinciding with the enemy. Working as a double agent." Snide warily suggested.

Scourge's eyes darkened. "You're bullshitting me, aren't you."

"I'm serious, man."

Scourge turned away from the coyote and gazed at a monitor's screen –even though there was nothing on. "When she first joined our team, she said she was merely doing it for revenge on someone; I don't know who it is. She said going through with this will most definitely even things up with whoever it is she has a grudge on."

"Really?" Snide asked, surprised that Scourge should know that.

The hedgehog nodded. "Ever since, she has performed with utter flawlessness, dedication and looks determined with every mission. I'd say that's more than enough loyalty."

The coyote stared into space for a moment, processing what his leader just said. "If I didn't know better, I'd say that you have a thing for her."

Scourge slowly turned around, a wry smile on his face. "OK, I'm guilty. I actually plan to make her my queen once I conquer this planet."

Snide raised an eyebrow. "Isn't this the kind of soft attitude you discourage us from showing? I mean, what if she gets caught? Will you be all too willing to kill her to keep your plans in motion? Or are you gonna let her blab it all out to the authorities and they storm this base with the military?"

Scourge paused, mulling it over for a while. He knew Snide had him there. "If she betrays us –which is unlikely- then I'll be forced to kill her. If she gets caught –also unlikely- I'll still kill her. She's just as expendable as the rest of you."

Despite the rather demeaning comment about the team, Snide nodded slowly. "Alright, Scourge. That is assurance enough that you're not going soft over a girl." He tried to make it sound genuine but his voice was laced with a hint of sarcasm. He hoped that Scourge did not notice it.

The coyote did not really peg Scourge for picking favourites but he could tell the hedgehog always had a thing for the fiery red vixen. On a few occasions, he had witnessed Scourge's rather wanton advances towards her, all of which had been rebuffed. Snide had simply dismissed it as one of Scourge's attempts to play a girl merely for getting into her panties. It would not be the first time. Yet Fiona always wisely turned him down, sometimes with comic results. The coyote thought Scourge would get it through his head that she wanted nothing to do with him on an intimate level and he would move on, yet the hedgehog still persisted.

Scourge zipped up so that there were only a few inches between him and Snide. "You would do well to remember your place, Snide. I am the leader of this operation and I make the decisions around here."

"Even leaders make foolish decisions." The coyote retorted and instantly wished he had kept his mouth shut instead.

In a flash, Scourge had his arm twisted painfully behind his back. The pain and odd angle forced the coyote to his knees.

"Do not doubt my judgement, Snide. Or else..." The hedgehog pulled on Snide's arm some more, causing more pain for the coyote.

"OK! OK! I get it, I get it!" He cried.

Scourge released him and Snide quickly scampered to his feet. He composed himself and tried to walk out the door but the hedgehog stopped him.

"Oh, and one more thing. Mention this conversation to anyone and I'll turn your head 360 degrees. Understand?"

Snide did not want to completely give Scourge the satisfaction of hearing his defeated voice, so he just settled for a stiff nod.

"Good. Now get out of here. I have some work to do." Scourge ushered Snide out the door and loudly shut it."

 **-X-X-X-**

 **A/N: Finally nice to get this done.**

 **To be honest, that lemon was not supposed to be there but I just went for it anyways. The next chapter is gonna take a while coz there's some action. Then again, it will depend on my writing speed and imagination. Nothing else to add here, so just read and enjoy.**

 **J.W.H. 10**


	21. Chapter 21

"Are you sure you're fully healed, Gary?" Miles asked as he packed Gareth's only bag in the backseat of his car.

Gareth pulled on his shirt's collar, revealing the healing remnants of his wound. What was previously a gaping cut was now a fresh but closed scar. "Yep. See for yourself." He returned the collar to its rightful place. "I'm just glad this is finally over. Living with my helicopter Mom and nosy sister for a week was really starting to take its toll on me."

Miles rolled his eyes. "Sure it has. In just a week you mean to tell me you've forgotten how to hold a gun? Or better yet, how to have sex?"

That statement brought a smirk from the squirrel. "Oh don't go there, Miles. Between you and me, we both know who went the longest without having sex."

Before Miles could open his mouth to shoot another reply, the door opened and Gareth's mother and Vicky stepped out. The former went to hug her son while the latter went to hug the fox.

"It was really nice having you over. Please take good care of yourself."

"Yeah, yeah, Mom, I know." Gareth replied stiffly.

The older squirrel tightened her hug. "I worry about you, you know. Still only twenty-one yet there you are, risking your life."

While mother and son shared a tender moment, Victoria was also creating her own with Miles.

"Only two more years, Miles, and we can officially be together."

Miles sighed. "OK, Vicky. One, keep dreaming. Two, I'm taken. Three, my girlfriend is very possessive. And four, she'll kill you if she finds out you're fawning over me."

Vicky laughed him off. "Wow, she sounds like a total bossy bitch. I'm pretty sure you won't even last two weeks."

Hearing Victoria call Fiona a bitch made Miles seethe with a bit of anger. Had it been some other person, they would be nursing a broken nose but this was his partner's sister. He gently pushed her away. " _Never_ ever call her that."

The tone in his voice wiped the smile off the young squirrel's face. She offered a hasty apology. "I'm sorry. I went too far there." She looked down and sheepishly played with a loose strand of hair. "It's just... I look at you and I see all the qualities of a perfect life partner. I guess I'm jealous of your girlfriend."

Miles softened when she said that. "Look, Vicky, I'm not perfect OK? There are other guys out there like me. I'm sure you'll find one eventually."

"But I fell in love with you, Miles!" Vicky almost whined.

"And I love someone else." She was just going to have to live with that. As far as Miles knew, this was the first time he was confessed to. Under different circumstances he would have reciprocated her feelings but he was with Fiona. She was just going to have to live with the fact that he was not interested in her.

The sound of his car's horn made him turn his head. Gareth was already in the passenger seat. "Hey, Miles, can we go now?" Apparently the squirrel was itching to go. It would be nice to go back to independence.

 **-X-X-X-**

"You know, your sister's crush on me is starting to get annoying." Miles said as soon as they entered Gareth's apartment.

Gareth carelessly tossed his bag onto the couch and went into the kitchen, later returning with two cans of soda, one of which he threw at Miles. "Can you blame her? She's sixteen. Even I used to be like that when I was her age."

Miles opened his soda. "And just like you, it ends in heartbreak for her. Maybe it runs in the family."

Gareth shot Miles a look. "Hey, I told you not to remind me of that." He sat down on the couch and reached for the remote, turning on the TV.

Miles sat down on a separate chair. "Sorry. You know, I've never been crushed on and confessed to before. Also I already have a girlfriend, who threatened me if I ever cheated on her again. _As if I would._ " Miles mumbled the last part.

Gareth chuckled. "I should have known she would be the one dominating your relationship."

Miles scoffed. "She doesn't dominate the relationship, dude. Neither of us does."

"Be that as it may, I don't think a boy should live in fear of his girlfriend if she ever found out he was unfaithful."

Miles narrowed his eyes at the squirrel. "She didn't 'find out', you idiot. You're the one who snitched."

The squirrel shrugged innocently. "Well, she was gonna find out at some point. I just thought it was better that you get that off your chest ASAP."

"Jeez, thanks." Miles said with sarcasm. "You better hope your future wife doesn't 'find out' about your gigolo sex life."

Gareth scoffed dismissively. "As if I'm ever gonna get married."

Miles finished his soda and stood up, heading for the door. "I'll see you at work tomorrow."

"Yeah, sure." Gareth replied, not turning his head.

 **-X-X-X-**

When Miles returned to his apartment, he was surprised to run into a familiar hedgehog in the hallway.

"Sonic."

Sonic smiled. "Tails! Just the guy I wanted to see. Where'd you go?"

Miles unlocked his door and entered the apartment, followed by Sonic. "I was dropping Gary off at his place. He was recovering from his injury at his parents'."

"I hope he's OK now."

"Yeah he's fine. Shame they can't do the same about his personality."

Sonic chuckled.

"Not to sound like I don't want you here, Sonic but shouldn't you be protecting 'Her Royal Majesty'?" Miles made air quotes when saying those final three words.

Sonic sighed as he sat himself down on the couch. "Well, to be completely honest with you, Tails, I am bored."

Miles raised an eyebrow. "Bored? In what way?"

Sonic raised his arms in frustration. "The lack of action, Tails! Don't get me wrong, I love the peace and everything but I just feel like I'm wasting away with my job."

The fox nodded in understanding. "Oh, I see what you mean."

Sonic reclined, staring into space. "Yeah. I'm glad we put Robotnik away and all, but it's just that... I miss all the action and danger he offered when he was still in power."

"Why don't you go break him out of prison so we can do it all over again?" Miles offered sarcastically.

In response, the hedgehog zoomed out of the room. He returned a second later with a soda can. "Nah. We can only move on and deal with whatever new threat that's out there."

Miles could only reply with an "mm hmm."

"You know, I envy you, Tails. Your job offers you the thrill of dangers and risks. Sure, it's not as deep as what Robotnik used to offer six years ago but still. Anything interesting of late?"

Miles rarely discussed his work with Sonic. "Just a bunch of thefts in steel factories, and last week there was a heist on a warehouse owned by the company that Rotor works for. That was where Gary got injured."

"I'm glad one of us is having fun out there. How's Rotor, by the way?" Sonic had not been keeping in touch with the walrus recently.

"He's fine. Gary just uses him as the butt of fat jokes."

Sonic ignored that last part, something else nagging at his mind. "Another thing I should take care of: reconnecting with friends." Working at the palace had turned Sonic into a sort of recluse. Being Head of Security meant he had to devote most of his time towards ensuring the safety of the Acorn Kingdom's monarch. Times like this when he had to meet friends were few and far between. With the little breaks he got, he always focused on meeting Tails and no one else.

"Speaking of reconnections, I met Fiona." Miles said out of nowhere.

Sonic instantly sat up. "What? When?"

"I first met her a few weeks ago at Riverside Park. And again a few days ago."

"She's not staying with you?" Sonic started looking around as if he had missed a sign in the apartment that revealed Fiona's occupation.

Miles shook his head. "She's not even staying in Mobotropolis."

"Did she say where?"

"No."

"Wow, this is big." A thought crossed the hedgehog's mind. "Hey, now that you've seen her again, are you..." he trailed off.

Miles had an idea of what he was going to say but egged him on for confirmation. "What?"

Sonic took a breath before finishing off. "...are you finally going to forgive Sally?"

Miles sighed deeply. "I don't know."

"Come on, bro. Sally really misses you."

"Not as much as how I missed Fiona."

"Look, I Know Sally made an error in judgement but you can't-"

Miles interrupted him. "I can't what, Sonic?! Huh? I didn't see my girlfriend for six years because of her 'error in judgement'!" His anger receded and he took a relaxing breath. "I'll forgive Sally only if Fiona will."

Sonic did not want to argue any further and simply nodded his head. "OK." He decided to return to the original topic. "I just have one request."

"What?" Miles asked with exasperation, thinking it was still related to his issue with Sally.

"Is it OK if I join you on your next mission?"

Miles was about to say no when he remembered who he was talking to. "Sure."

Sonic grinned from ear to ear. "Wow, really? No conditions or anything?"

"Well, I was about to bring up the 'no endangering civilians' excuse." Miles also donned a grin of his own. "But then I remembered you're no civilian."

"Great." Sonic then looked at his watch. "I have to go now. I trust you'll keep me posted."

"Sure." Miles nodded.

 **-X-X-X-**

 **A/N: I know this chapter is way shorter than usual. It's just a filler chapter that I wrote to let you all know that I have not abandoned this story. I just suffered a serious block with it. But I'm over it now. Still, there are also other stories I have to turn my attention to. Please be patient with me.**

 **J.W.H. 10**


	22. Chapter 22

At B.R.U.T.E. Force Headquarters, Gareth was given a small welcome back in his office by Miles, Dennis, Jake, Roger and Flynn.

Gareth's reaction was expected in its sarcasm. "Thanks, guys. Makes me _almost_ glad to be returning to work." He was still the same old Gareth, always looking to avoid work.

"Why don't I stab you again? Only this time, you won't be returning anytime soon." Roger offered, half sarcastically and half maliciously.

"Oh, dude, tell your sister to let it go already." Gareth shrugged guiltlessly.

Roger glared at him as he stalked off. The other agents followed the mouse out, leaving the squirrel alone with Miles.

Gareth sat in his chair. "So, back to business, I presume. How far are you with the case?"

Miles shrugged. "Well, we've got nothing so far. The hedgehog and his crew have been inactive for the whole week."

"They're probably planning something big." Gareth pointed out knowingly. "We just have to figure out what it is."

"I can't believe I'm saying this but I'm actually looking forward to their next robbery." Miles had become bored with the lack of activity. What he thought was crook's beginning of a crime spree had since petered out, leaving him with nothing exciting to do.

"It's not about that vixen, is it?" Gareth turned to Miles with a smirk.

"What? No!" The fox had a look of disgust on his face. "Why would you even think that?"

"That's probably all you can think about. Imagine what Fiona would think if she found out." The squirrel put on a high-pitched feminine voice. "'Miles, you cheat! It was bad enough you cheated on me with a flattie but now you're going as far as a cheating on me with a criminal? Oh, how low you have stooped.'"

Miles laughed. "She would sooner punch me in the face than waste her breath speaking like that."

Gareth was about to reply but his smile disappeared when an unwanted character appeared at his office door.

Chandler's stood at the threshold, his brown eyes wandering the room before they fell on Miles. "Sorry to interrupt your little reunion, boys, but I wanna speak with Prower for a bit." His voice had lost the sneer they had been so accustomed to hearing from him. "...if it doesn't bother you."

Miles raised an eyebrow in suspicion but followed the human out of the office. He surprisingly had a warm smile on his face. Usually it was mocking. "What is it, Chandler?"

Chandler leaned down a bit, as if he was talking to a child. "I just wanted to say that, despite our differences, we actually did pretty well during our all too brief partnership. I don't really know what I was so jealous of you about."

Miles was taken completely aback by the compliment. That was the nicest thing Chandler had ever said to him. "Uh... thank you, even though it was just one mission."

"Yeah, but we performed admirably, wouldn't you say?"

"Well... yeah, I guess we did." Miles shrugged, averting his eyes. This was getting kind of awkward.

Chandler could sense it too. "OK. So, um... I don't know if you'll ever need my help with the remainder of your case, you know, since you banned me from interfering and all, but just to let you know, should you want an extra pair of hands..."

"Hold on. Are you, Sebastian Chandler, seriously surrendering yourself to fall under my command?" Miles asked incredulously.

"Well, I wouldn't exactly put it like that, per se." When Miles said it that way, it made Chandler feel totally submissive to the fox. It was a feeling that disgusted him to no end but he was just going to have to stomach it if he was going to get back on the case. "I'm just saying I'll be there, should you ever need help."

Still, Miles remained apprehensive. "Right. You know, I distinctly remember you saying that you would sooner tap dance naked in Acorn Square than even lift a finger to follow my lead."

"Oh, Prower, you should know how competitive a workplace such as this one can get." Chandler tried to laugh it off. "So, what do you say?"

Miles' first instinct would be to say "fuck no" but rejecting the human's request would also mean rejecting his veiled for peace. This was the most civil he and Chandler had ever been since he had arrived at B.R.U.T.E. Force. Shooting him down would obviously return Chandler's resentment towards him with a vengeance. Miles was not really up for that. For once, he would have liked to come to work knowing that no one despises him.

"OK, fine. If I need your help, I'll let you know."

Chandler beamed. "Great! You won't regret this, Prower!" With that, Chandler turned and headed towards his own office.

"What did Chandler want?" Gareth asked once Miles returned.

Miles shrugged. "To make nice, I think."

The squirrel scoffed. "You don't really believe that, do you?"

Miles hesitated in his answer. "I don't know. But he sounded for real."

Gareth raised an eyebrow in scepticism. "Did he, Miles?"

 **-X-X-X-**

Chandler returned to his office, where Bruce was waiting for him.

"So, what did he say?"

Chandler smiled; his usual conniving smile. "The gullible fool actually believes I wanna make peace. Now, when he decides to take me with him on his next mission, I'll be able to find out more about that hedgehog's plan."

"You mean _if_ he takes you." Bruce corrected.

Chandler sat in his chair. "Why shouldn't he? I've duped him into believing we can work together. When he eventually figures out their next hit, he's bound to take me."

The Labrador scoffed. "Right. So he's thinking his brains out while you just sit here, waiting to profit from his findings? It's high school exams all over again." He shook his head in derision.

Chandler became defensive. "Hey, you and I both know no successful person became who there are today without playing dirty."

Bruce laughed humourlessly. "Playing dirty? That's an understatement. We had to torture and kill someone." Bruce almost shuddered at the memories of that night.

"Yeah. And thanks to that, we now know more than what Prower knows."

 **-X-X-X-**

Later that afternoon, Miles and Gareth met up with Sonic at a small diner for a relaxing lunch. Well, two of them were could at least call it relaxing.

Miles massaged his head, trying to relieve some stress. "Where do you guys think they're gonna hit next?"

Sonic eyed his best friend. "Tails, come on, can't you stop thinking for one minute and have your meal?" He pushed the plate of fries and chicken closer to the fox.

Miles inhaled the food, reminding him of where he was and causing his stomach to growl. "Yeah, you're right." He picked up his fork with his right hand while the left continued to knead his forehead.

Gareth spoke with a mouthful of food. "I know what you're thinking now, Miles: if only Fiona were massaging your head."

"Seriously, dude?" Miles rolled his eyes.

"I still can't believe you met her. What did you talk about?" Sonic asked.

Miles shrugged nonchalantly. "We just... caught up."

"And?" Sonic pressed.

"They banged, obviously." Gareth put in before Miles could open his mouth.

The fox shot him a withering stare.

"I wasn't really leading up to that." Sonic pointed out. "What I wanted to know is, did you ever talk about, you know, that night?"

Miles knew exactly what night Sonic was talking about. "Sonic, please let's not bring that up."

Gareth did not. "What night?"

Sonic ignored him, focusing only on Miles. "Come on, dude. Sally misses you. You're all she thinks about."

"Who's Sally...?" A smirk crossed Gareth's face. "Wait a minute, is she a secret flame? Oh, Miles you player."

But it was like Gareth no longer existed as the fox and hedgehog were involved in a conversation of their own.

"If she apologizes to Fiona, and if Fiona forgives her, then things can go back to normal." Miles said matter-of-factly.

"Would either of you like to tell me what exactly you're talking about?!" Gareth raised his voice to a shout, finally catching the attention of Miles and Sonic... and a few other diners.

"Sorry, Gary, but this doesn't concern you." Miles said darkly.

"Oh, really now? You know, for the past weeks, I've found out stuff that has me wondering if I know you at all. I mean, just over two weeks ago, you told me you were part of a group of 'Freedom Fighters' that helped liberate this country." Gareth turned to Sonic. "Can you believe this guy?"

"It's true." Sonic said with a straight face.

"What?" The squirrel looked at the two incredulously.

"Even I was part of it." The hedgehog added.

Gareth was silent with shock for almost a minute. "Oh, shit! You have got to be kidding me!"

"I understand if this shocks you, but-" Miles was cut off by the squirrel's excited voice.

"That's awesome! I'm absolutely thrilled! I mean, this explains so much about you. That fight you got into on the day I first met you, for starters. I didn't think you would win, even though the odds were stacked against you."

"Jeez, thanks for revealing your confidence in me, Gary." Miles said sarcastically.

"So tell me, what other hidden abilities do you possess?" Gareth prodded.

Miles shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, I don't mean to brag but I can build an aeroplane engine."

Gareth's eyes widened in awe. "Get out! Wait, are we talking Boeings or smaller planes?"

"Smaller. I managed to build a biplane. And I was only fourteen." Miles sipped from his cup.

"Wow, dude! All of a sudden _almost_ you sound way cooler than me." Gareth had a hard time conceding to being ousted.

"OK. What did _you_ do when you were fourteen?" Miles smirked knowingly.

The squirrel raised his hands in surrender. "Alright, I admit. You _were_ way cooler than me. The keyword being 'were'."

Miles chuckled and leant back in his chair "You know, Gary, you might not see it or fully comprehend it, but there's more to me than meets the eye."

Gareth rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right. What's next? You can build an advanced and dangerous weapon out of a hairdryer and a pile of twigs?"

Miles grinned. "Don't tempt me."

"Weapons..." Sonic muttered, deep in thought.

Miles stared at him curiously. "What?"

The hedgehog's voice piped up in realization. "That's it! Weapons! That's what they could steal next!"

"What are you—oh, right!" Gareth had been so engrossed with Miles' revelations, he momentarily forgot about the case.

"And not just any weapons. They'll be going for bigger ones. More advanced. More dangerous." Sonic added.

"Hey, you're right!" Miles said, agreeing with the hedgehog.

"Hold on now. Where on Mobius are they gonna get such weapons?" Gareth asked. "I mean, do they even exist?"

Miles looked at Sonic. "Should we tell him?" He whispered.

"It couldn't hurt." Sonic whispered back.

"Tell me what?" Gareth asked, starting to feel like a third wheel.

Miles turned his attention to his partner, looking him straight in the eye as he spoke. "About six years ago, the military developed some very high tech weapons that they intended to use to destroy Robotnik's facilities. But he was brought down before they could use them so the weapons were locked away in a secret military base."

Gareth slowly nodded, putting the pieces together. "So you think the hedgehog and his crew are gonna steal those weapons from this base?"

Sonic nodded. "Precisely."

A smile crossed Gareth's face. "And let me guess: you know this base's location, right?"

"Yeah, we do." Miles replied

"Great! So we go to this base and warn them of the imminent danger." Gareth sat back in his chair. Then, he pointed a finger to Miles. "And after that, you and me are gonna have a long talk."

 **-X-X-X-**

A man dressed in a black suit was sitting at a table opposite the trio. While he appeared to be enjoying a veggie burger and some coffee, he had also been listening in on the trio's conversation. And he had just serendipitously uncovered some vital information.

He got up, left some money on the table and went out of the diner. He walked to his car, a black BMW and got into the driver's seat. He pulled out his phone and dialled a number.

"Hey, you're gonna wanna hear this..."

 **-X-X-X-**

In an apartment, a Beethoven symphony **(I don't know their names but it's that really slow, quiet and relaxing one. Or maybe it's Mozart's)** was sultrily being played on a grand piano by a black hedgehog. He stroked the keys with the grace of a veteran pianist. So skilled was he that his eyes were closed, memorising where every key was.

He did not cease playing when his door opened, for he knew exactly who it was. A female bat casually walked in and sat at the piano.

"Great news, Shadow."

Shadow did not stop playing until he finished the symphony. "What is it, Rouge?"

"We got a mission."

"Finally!" Shadow stood up. "It's been over six years since anything interesting happened in this country. So, what's our intel?"

"Agent Andrews. Said he overheard a couple of B.R.U.T.E. Force agents talking about a potential attack on a top secret military base that stores dangerous weapons." Rouge explained.

Though his face showed no reaction whatsoever, Shadow was excited. "Promising. It's high time I put my abilities to some proper use. If these guys are a match for me."

"Oh, please. Is anyone ever a match for you?"

In the blink of an eye, Shadow zipped out of the room and returned a millisecond later, carrying his gun. "No one is a match for me, Rouge."

Rouge slowly walked up to Shadow. She added a bit of extra sway on her curvy hips. Bringing her face mere inches away from Shadows, she whispered. "Except me."

She brought her smirking lips closer to the hedgehog's very own. Shadow stood still, his face expressionless, staring into the bat's teal eyes.

At the last second, Rouge pulled away. "Come on. We got a job to do."

 **-X-X-X-**

 **A/N: This is just part of the chapter I am working on. I had initially intended to put them both together but thought it best to split them. Also the next chapter will be longer and features an action scene. It's been a while since I last wrote one for this story but I'm not rusty. With luck, I'll probably update in the next few days. So stay tuned.**

 **J.W.H. 10**


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